Posterior Abdominal Wall Flashcards
What are the characteristic features of the lumbar vertebrae?
Vertebral bodies - large and kidney shaped
Vertebral foramen - triangular in shape
Transverse process - long and slender
Articular process - almost vertical (superior face medially, inferior face laterally)
Spinous process - short and broad
What kind of joint are the zygopophyseal joints?
Synovial plane
Where does the ligamentum flavum run?
Between the lamina of adjacent vertebrae
Where is the lumbrosacral joint?
What ligaments is it strengthened by?
Between L5 and S1
Strengthened by the iliolumbar ligaments
At what vertebral level does the spinal cord terminate?
L1
Which structures pass through the opening of the diaphragm at T8?
Inferior vena cava
Right phrenic nerve
Which structures pass through the opening of the diaphragm at T10?
Oesophagus
Vagus nerves
Oesophageal branches of the left gastric vessels
Which structures pass through the opening of the diaphragm at T12?
Aorta
Thoracic duct
Azygous vein
Sympathetic chains
From which vertebrae do the left and right crus of the diaphragm arise?
Right crus: L1-L3
Left crus: L1-L2
What is the median arcuate ligament?
A fibrous structure which unites the right and left crura
What is the medial arcuate ligament?
Thickening of fascia that covers the psoas major muscle
What is the lateral arcuate ligament?
Thickening of the fascia that covers the quadratus lumborum muscle
Which nerves supply’s the diaphragm?
Phrenic nerve
What is the arterial supply to the diaphragm?
Musculophrenic and pericardocophrenic - branches of internal thoracic
Superior phrenic - branch of thoracic aorta
Inferior phrenic - branch of abdominal aorta
What are the 5 muscles that make up the posterior abdominal wall?
Psoas major Psoas mino Quadratus lumborum Iliacus Diaphragm
Psoas major
Origin - T12-L5
Insertion - lesser trochanter of femur
Action - flexion of thigh at hip
Innervation - anterior rami of L1-L3
Psoas minor
Origin - T12-L1
Insertion - pectineal line of the pelvic Blum and iliopubic eminence
Action - flexion of lumbar vertebral colum
Innervation - anterior rami of L1
What muscle does the thoracolumbar fascia overlie?
The quadratus lumborum
What are the three layers of the thoracolumbar fascia?
Which muscles are enclosed between the layers?
Anterior, middle and posterior
Quadratus lumborum - between anterior and middle layers
Deep back muscles - between middle and posterior layers
Which two muscles does the posterior layer of the thoracolumbar fascia meet laterally?
Internal Oblique and transversus abdominis
What vertebral levels does the abdominal aorta lie?
T12-L4
What are the three visceral unpaired branches of the abdominal aorta that arise from the ventral plane?
Coeliac trunk
Superior mesenteric
Inferior mesenteric
What are the three paired visceral branches of the abdominal aorta that arise from the lateral plane?
Suprarenal
Renal
Testicular/Ovarian
What are the three paired parietal branches of the abdominal aorta that arise from the posterolateral plane?
Inferior Phrenic
Lumbar
Median sacral
