Where is l3 and l4 in the spine

See Lumbar Spine Anatomy and Pain. See Degenerative Spondylolisthesis. Rarely, tumors and infections may affect the L3-L4 motion segment. Read more about Lumbar Radiculopathy. An injury to the cauda equina is called cauda equina syndrome. Immediate medical attention is crucial in this condition to preserve leg function. See Cauda Equina Syndrome. Early treatment is important to the prognosis. The lumbar spine is located in the lower back below the cervical and thoracic sections of the spine.

It consists of five vertebrae known as L1 - L5. These lumbar vertebrae or lumbar bones contain spinal cord tissue and nerves which control communication between the brain and the legs. Damage to the lumbar spinal cord subsequently affects the hips and groin area, and may impact the lower abdominal muscles and thigh flexion as well.

Lumbar spinal cord injuries SCIs may be complete or incomplete and may affect one or both sides of the body. As is the case with other spinal cord injuries , the completeness of the spinal cord damage will determine how severe the injury and symptoms will be for the patient.

It is also important to understand that the lumbar vertebrae are much different than the upper segments of the spine because the spinal cord does not extend the entire length of the lumbar spine. L2 is the lowest vertebral segment that contains spinal cord tissue. After that point, nerve roots exit each of the remaining lumbar levels beyond the spinal cord. Injuries below this level at the L3, L4, and L5 vertebrae affect the hips and legs and may cause numbness extending to the feet sciatica.

It may also harm the tip of the spinal cord known as the cauda equina, which is a bundle of spinal nerves and nerve roots that innervate the lower lumbar spine to the sacrum. As a fetus, vertebral segments directly relate to spinal cord segments. As an adult, the spinal column grows longer than the spinal cord and they no longer relate to one another.

The spinal cord ends around the L1 or L2 vertebrae in adults, forming the conus medullaris. The horsetail shaped area, which extends past the conus medullaris, is called the cauda equina. How many vertebrae are in the spine? Well, for the lumbar spinal column, there are five sections. Lumbar vertebrae anatomy is generally classified by dividing the lumbar spine into five distinct sections. These sections are labelled as the L1-L5 vertebrae. These vertebrae are located near the base of the spine and naturally form a slight outward curve in the back, just below the inward curve of the thoracic spine.

The lumbar vertebrae function to contain and protect the end of the spinal cord, as well as support the weight of the torso. The L1 vertebra is the topmost section of the lumbar spinal column. This section of the spine contains a portion of the spinal cord. The thoracic spinal vertebrae consist of 12 total vertebrae and are located between the cervical vertebrae which begin at the base of the skull and…. An intervertebral disk acts as shock absorber between each of the vertebrae in the spinal column by keeping the vertebrae separated when there is….

The vertebral column, also known as the spinal column, is a flexible column that encloses the spinal cord and also supports the head. It consists of…. The T12 vertebra is the twelfth thoracic vertebra in the spine of the human body. It is part of the spinal column, which supports the top of the human…. The human backbone is a column of 33 total vertebrae, of which 24 are movable and free the remainder are fused.

The movable vertebrae are divided…. T he areas of skin a single nerve innervates in the leg is called a dermatome. Each specific nerve will be responsible for sensory perception in a very specific area of skin sensory perception being temperature, touch, vibration, pressure and pain.

Therefore, if a nerve is impinged in the lower back, pain and pins and needles or paraesthesia will refer to any given dermatome. So sciatic pain will potentially refer to any of those areas innervated from L3 to S3 levels these levels innervate the back of the leg and femoral nerve impingement will cause pain L2-L4 levels these dermatomes innervate the front of the thigh which provide both feeling and power to the front of the thigh.

Things to be aware of that are clinically significant and indicate that you need to take further action when you have sciatica are:. For the femoral nerve, this generally provides both feeling and power to the front of the thigh it innervates what we call the hip flexors and knee extensors.

Movements such as climbing stairs the knee may unstable and prone to buckling will be difficult as your thigh muscles will feel weak. Pain may also be felt on the side of the buttock, groin, inside of the knee and lower leg. It is also worth mentioning that all the muscles in the legs are also innervated by nerves from different levels in the spine as well.

These are called myotomes. The information you give us in clinic and our clinical testing will help establish at which level in your spine you have a trapped nerve. There are a few terms commonly used when describing discs which we can quickly clarify. A disc bulge is where the outer wall of the disc bulges out from its normal position.

The disc wall is not broken, and the nucleus material is contained inside the disc. As the disc bulges, it may press against nerves directly. Often a bulge can be associated with a loss of disc height and this may lead to impingement of a nerve as it exits the spinal canal via a gap called a foramen between two vertebrae. A herniated disc is the same as a prolapsed disc.

This is where the nucleus of the disc breaks through the outer disc wall.