We will be closed on Saturday September 14 due to facilities work.
Today's Hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm
Lane Medical Library

Bassett Collection of Stereoscopic Images of Human Anatomy

Lumbosacral meninges, spinal cord and nerve roots dissected from behind

Contents of sacral canal, posterior view

Image #219-4

KEYWORDS: Central nervous system, Lumbar region, Sacral region, Vertebral column.

Creative Commons

Stanford holds the copyright to the David L. Bassett anatomical images and has assigned Creative Commons license Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International to all of the images.

Creative Commons License logo

For additional information regarding use and permissions, please contact Dr. Drew Bourn at dbourn@stanford.edu.

Lumbosacral meninges, spinal cord and nerve roots dissected from behind
Contents of sacral canal, posterior view
The laminae of the fifth lumbar vertebra have been cut away and the entire sacral canal has been opened to expose the meninges, nerve roots and blood vessels within the lower part of the vertebral canal. The paired coccygeal nerves are fused with the filum durae matris spinalis and as a consequence are not clearly visible.
1 . Spinous process vertebra L. IV
2 . Lamina (arch of vertebra) L. IV
3 . Intervertebral joint capsule L. IV - V
4 . Vertebral canal (pointer indicates epidural space from which veins and fat have been removed)
5 . Lamina (arch of vertebra) L. V (cut through)
6 . Intervertebral joint capsule L. V - S. I
7 . Posterior superior iliac spine
8 . Sacral nerve III (pointer on dural sheath of nerve roots)
9 . Posterior internal vertebral venous plexus
10 . Gluteus maximus muscle (partially cut away medially)
11 . Dural filum terminale (paired coccygeal nerve fused with filum and not clearly visible in this specimen)
12 . Sacral nerve V
13 . Margins of sacral hiatus
14 . Coccyx (covered by deep dorsal sacrococcygeal ligament)
15 . Ligamentum flavum
16 . Erector spinae muscle (cut across)
17 . Thoracolumbar fascia
18 . Transverse process of vertebra L. V
19 . Upper pointer: Dura mater Lower pointer: Spinal ganglion
20 . Dorsal branch lateral sacral artery
21 . Lamina sacrum (cut through)
22 . Dorsal sacroiliac ligament
23 . Dorsal branch sacral nerve II
24 . Posterior sacral foramen III
25 . Lateral border of sacrum
26 . Sacral cornu (horn)
27 . Dorsal superficial sacrococcygeal ligament (partially removed)
28 . Coccygeal cornu (horn)