Thoracolumbar fascia

Thoracolumbar fascia

Diagram of a transverse section of the posterior abdominal wall, to show the disposition of the lumbodorsal fascia.

Superficial muscles of the back. The thoracolumbar fascia is the gray area at bottom center.
Details
Latin fascia thoracolumbalis, fascia lumbodorsalis
Identifiers
Gray's p.397
Dorlands
/Elsevier
f_03/12355635
TA A04.3.02.501
FMA 25072
Anatomical terminology

The thoracolumbar fascia (lumbodorsal fascia) is a deep investing membrane which covers the deep muscles of the back of the trunk. It is made up of three layers, anterior, middle, and posterior. The anterior layer is the thinnest and the posterior layer is the thickest. Two spaces are formed between these three layers of the fascia. Between the anterior and middle layer lies the quadratus lumborum muscle. The erector spinae muscle is enclosed between the middle and posterior layers.

Thoracolumbar fascia

Above, it passes in front of the serratus posterior superior and is continuous with a similar investing layer on the back of the neck—the nuchal fascia.

In the thoracic region the lumbodorsal fascia is a thin fibrous lamina which serves to bind down the Extensor muscles of the vertebral column and to separate them from the muscles connecting the vertebral column to the upper extremity.

It contains both longitudinal and transverse fibers, and is attached, medially, to the spinous processes of the thoracic vertebræ; laterally to the angles of the ribs.

See also

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

External links