Ligamenta flava

Ligament: Ligamenta flava
Vertebral arches of three thoracic vertebræ viewed from the front.
Median sagittal section of two lumbar vertebræ and their ligaments.
Gray's	subject #72 290
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MeSH	A02.513.514.287
Dorlands/Elsevier	l_09/12492241

The ligamenta flava (singular, ligamentum flavum, Latin for yellow ligament) are ligaments which connect the laminae of adjacent vertebra, all the way from the axis to the first segment of the sacrum. They are best seen from the interior of the vertebral canal; when looked at from the outer surface they appear short, being overlapped by the laminæ.

Each ligament consists of two lateral portions which commence one on either side of the roots of the articular processes, and extend backward to the point where the laminæ meet to form the spinous process; the posterior margins of the two portions are in contact and to a certain extent united, slight intervals being left for the passage of small vessels. Each consists of yellow elastic tissue, the fibers of which, almost perpendicular in direction, are attached to the anterior surface of the lamina above, some distance from its inferior margin, and to the posterior surface and upper margin of the lamina below. In the cervical region the ligaments are thin, but broad and long; they are thicker in the thoracic region, and thickest in the lumbar region.

Their marked elasticity serves to preserve the upright posture, and to assist the vertebral column in resuming it after flexion. The elastin prevents buckling of the ligament into the spinal canal during extension, which would cause canal compression. Hypertrophy of this ligament may cause canal stenosis because it lies in the posterior portion of the vertebral canal.

External links

• SUNY Figs 02:02-05
• Picture at McGill University

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