lumb-, lumbo-

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).

Accompanying the artery of the same name, anastomosing (joining two tubular organs) with the lumbar and deep circumflex iliac veins, and emptying into the internal iliac vein (one of three veins draining the pelvic area).

Pain in the lower back and buttock(s) due to vascular insufficiency, as in terminal aortic occlusion.

1. A painful condition of the lower back resulting from a muscle strain or a slipped disk.
2. Pain in the loins, the parts of the sides of the back between the thorax (between the neck and the abdomen) and the pelvis (thighs).

Near, the loins; as, the lumbar arteries.

Pertaining to the loins, the parts of the sides of the back between the thorax and the pelvis.

The probing 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.

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.

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.

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.

A condition in which the first segment of the sacrum is not fused with the second, so that there is one additional articulated vertebra and the sacrum consists of only four segments.

Pertaining to both the frontal areas and sides of the abdomen: The lumboabdominal sections of the human body include the frontal and abdominal parts.

The operation of forming a permanent opening into the colon by an incision through the lumbar region.

An incision into the colon through the loin.

1. A reference to the loin and the ribs.
2. Relating to the lumbar vertebrae and the ribs.

Denoting a ligament connecting the first lumbar vertebra with the neck of the twelfth rib.