You searched for: “lumbar
lumbar
Pertaining to the loins, the parts of the sides of the back between the thorax and the pelvis.
This entry is located in the following unit: lumb-, lumbo- (page 1)
lumbar, lumber, lumber, lumber
lumbar (LUM buhr, lum BAHR) (adjective)
Relating to the area between the thoracic vertebrae and the region of the sacrum or pelvis: When he fell, Tom injured the lumbar part of his back and was in considerable pain.
lumber (LUM buhr) (verb)
To move heavily often as a result of carrying great weight: The immense size and bulk of the luggage caused the porter to lumber across the station platform.
lumber (LUM buhr) (noun)
Logs or lengths of timber that are cut specifically to be used for construction: Jesse bought extra lumber because he was building a wooden fence around his property in the back.
lumber (LUM buhr) (adjective)
Descriptive of the store or location which sells prepared wood products: Leonard went to the lumber yard to buy the planks that he needed to build a shed in his backyard.

When he tried to lift a heavy load of lumber, he pulled a muscle in the lumbar area of his back and so he had to go for physiotherapy.

Word Entries containing the term: “lumbar
ascending lumbar vein, vena lumbalis ascendens
Paired, vertical vein of the posterior abdominal wall, adjacent and parallel to the vertebral column, posterior to the origin of the psoas major muscle (bodies of vertebrae and intervertebral disks from the twelfth thoracic to the fifth lumbar); it connects the common iliac (dorsal bone of the pelvis), iliolumbar, and lumbar veins in the paravertebral line, the right vein joining the right subcostal vein to form the azygos vein, the left vein uniting with the left subcostal (below the ribs); vein to form the hemiazygos vein (merger of the left ascending lumbar vein with the left subcostal vein).
This entry is located in the following unit: lumb-, lumbo- (page 1)
lumbar facet joint (s) (noun), lumbar facet joints
Any of the four projections that link one vertebra of the spine to an adjacent vertebra: Lumbar facet joints are increasingly held responsible for low back aches.

The lumbar facet joints are subjected to continuous stresses throughout life and by degeneration, reactive remodeling, and hypertrophy (enlargement); all of which can affect the joints.

This entry is located in the following unit: facio-, faci-, face- (page 2)
lumbar palpation (s) (noun), lumbar palpations (pl)
The probingĀ or physical manipulation of a ptotic or enlarged kidney with one hand while the other hand is placed under the lumbar region, the subject being examined in the dorsal decubitus or reclining position: Jack was feeling quite ill and when he was examined by his physician, a lumbar palpation was used to determine the condition of his internal organs and especially of the organ that cleans blood and removes the waste.
lumbar puncture (s) (noun), lumbar punctures (pl)
A spinal tap which is a procedure in which spinal fluid is removed from the spinal canal for the purpose of diagnostic testing.

Lumbar puncture is especially helpful in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, especially infections, such as meningitis. Lumbar puncture can also provide clues to the diagnosis of stroke, spinal cord tumor, and cancer in the central nervous system.

A lumbar puncture is so-called because the needle goes into the lumbar portion of the back. Other names for a lumbar puncture (an LP) include spinal puncture, thecal puncture, and rachiocentesis.

A lumbar puncture can also be done for therapeutic purposes, namely as a way of administering antibiotics, cancer drugs, or anesthetic agents into the spinal canal.

Spinal fluid is sometimes removed by lumbar puncture for the purpose of decreasing spinal fluid pressure in patients with uncommon conditions, such as normal-pressure hydrocephalus and benign intracranial hypertension.

After a local anesthesia is injected into the small of the back (the lumbar area), a needle is inserted in between the nearby bony building blocks (vertebrae) into the spinal canal to make the lumbar puncture. The needle is usually placed between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae. Spinal fluid pressure can then be measured and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) removed for testing.

The cerebrospinal fluid circulates around the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system). This "water bath" acts as a support of buoyancy for the brain and spinal cord. The support of the cerebrospinal fluid helps to protect the brain from injury.

Spinal fluid obtained from the lumbar puncture can be used to diagnose many important diseases, such as bleeding around the brain, increased pressure from hydrocephalus, inflammation of the brain, spinal cord, or the adjacent tissues (encephalitis, meningitis); tumors of brain or spinal cord, etc. Sometimes spinal fluid can indicate diseases of the immune system, such as multiple sclerosis.

When spinal fluid is removed during a lumbar puncture, the risks include headache, brain herniation, bleeding, and infection. Each of these complications are uncommon with the exception of headache, which can appear from hours to up to a day after lumbar puncture.

Headaches occur less frequently when the patient remains lying flat one to three hours after the procedure. The benefits of the lumbar puncture depend on the exact situation, but a lumbar puncture can usually provide lifesaving information.

—Compiled from excerpts of information located in
Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary; F.A. Davis Company;
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1997; pages 1131 to 1132.
This entry is located in the following units: lumb-, lumbo- (page 1) pung-, punc-, punct- (page 4)
lumbar veins, venae lumbales
Five in number, these veins accompany the lumbar arteries, drain the posterior body wall and the lumbar vertebral venous plexuses, and terminate anteriorly as follows: the first and second in the ascending lumbar vein, the third and fourth in the inferior vena cava, and the fifth in the iliolumbar vein; all communicate via the ascending lumbar veins.
This entry is located in the following unit: lumb-, lumbo- (page 1)
lumbar vertebrae, vertebrae lumbales (pl) (noun)
The bones, usually five in number, located in the lumbar region of the back which is near, or situated in the part of the back and sides between the lowest ribs and the pelvis.
This entry is located in the following units: lumb-, lumbo- (page 1) vetebro-, vertebr- (page 1)
regio lumbalis, lumbar region
The region of the back lateral to the vertebral region and between the rib cage and the pelvis.
This entry is located in the following unit: lumb-, lumbo- (page 2)
right lumbar lymph nodes
The chain of lymph nodes associated with the inferior vena cava; it is divided into three groups: nodi lymphatici cavales laterales on the right of the inferior vena cava; nodi lymphatici precavales, in front of the inferior vena cava; nodi lymphatici postcavales, under nodus lymphaticus, behind the inferior vena cava.

The inferior vena cava are the large venous trunk which receives blood from the lower extremities and from the pelvic and abdominal organs. It travels through the abdomen (from the lower extremities) and returns blood to the right atrium, a thin-walled chamber of the heart which pumps blood into the right ventricle, of the heart.

This entry is located in the following units: lumb-, lumbo- (page 2) lymph-, lympho- (page 3)
vena lumbalis, lumbar vein
Veins that drain the posterior body wall and the lumbar vertebral venous plexuses.
This entry is located in the following unit: lumb-, lumbo- (page 2)