title: Surgical view of the lumbar arteries and their branches: an anatomical study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although injury to the lumbar arteries during anterior spinal approaches is often encountered, there are few published articles regarding the relationship between the lumbar arteries and spinal cord ischemia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the morphology of the lumbar arteries and to emphasize their clinical importance.
  
  
  METHODS
  With the aid of a surgical microscope, 80 lumbar arteries in 10 formalin-fixed male cadavers were studied. Measurements of these structures were made and relationships observed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The spinal artery was usually the first branch of the lumbar artery. The greatest lumbar artery diameter was at L4 and had a mean diameter of 3.25 mm; the smallest diameter was identified at L2 and had a mean diameter of 2.05 mm. The largest spinal artery diameter was at L3 (mean, 0.56 mm) and the smallest at L1 (mean, 0.42 mm). The largest anastomotic artery diameter was at L4 (mean, 0.42 mm) and the smallest at L1 (mean, 0.32 mm). For the right and left sides, the mean greatest distance between the origin of the lumbar artery and the tendinous arch was at L4 (mean, 40.9 and 31.8 mm, respectively) and the least at L1 (mean, 31.8 and 22.5 mm, respectively). The mean of the greatest distance between the anastomotic branch and the base of the transverse process of the lumbar vertebrae was at L4 (mean, 4.41 and 4.35 mm, respectively) and the smallest at L1 (mean, 4.04 and 4.08 mm, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These anatomic findings of the lumbar segmental arteries would be useful for emphasizing their surgical importance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yuzuncu Yıl University, Faculty of Medicine, Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Ayhan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Comert
authors.forename: Halil Ibrahim
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Acar
authors.forename: Mevci
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Alaittin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elhan
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tekdemir
authors.forename: R Shane
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tubbs
authors.forename: Hasan Caglar
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ugur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002102:Cadaver; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000098:blood supply; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000098:blood supply*; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055815:Young Adult