Epidural

Epidurals are given for the relief of leg pain. A cocktail
of drugs containing a corticosteroid and a local
anesthetic is injected into the epidural space, between
the bone and the membrane that encloses the spinal
chord.

Extrusion

Part of the loose fragment of the disc material that lies
within and part without the torn annulus.

Facet Joints

As one vertebrae sits on another, the top of one and the
bottom of the other meet at 2 places referred to as the
facet joints. They are synovial joints, that is they are
encapsulated and produce a lubricating fluid.

Foramen

The gap between the pedicles of the vertebrae that holds
nerve roots as they emerge from the spinal chord to the
left and right.

Ganglion

A swelling of the nervous tissue on the dorsal nerve
route within the spine which contains nerve cells.

Gibbus

An acute backward angulation of the spine causing
Kyphosis often after a fracture where one spinus
process is prominent.

Herniation

The bulging through of a part of the body eg. the
nucleus pulposis can be herniated through the annulus
fibrosis.

Instability

A term used to describe an abnormal increase in the
movement of one vertebrae to another.

Intermittent Claudication

A clinical condition when a patient has pain in the legs
when walking, relieved by rest and caused by vascular
disease in the legs.

Intravertebral Foramen

The outer boundary of the root canal composed of the
vertebral above, the vertebral below and the disc in
front. The nerve root passes through the foramen into
the soft tissues.

Isthmicseondylolisthesis

A condition where one vertebra is displayed forward
onto the next lower vertebra because of a defect in the
pars interarticularis. Usually L5 displaces forward on
S1.

Kyphosis

The convex curve of the thoracic spine. It can be over-
exaggerated in such diseases as Osteoporosis or
Scheuemann's disease.

Lamina

The plate of the bone at the back of the spine arching
over the spinal chord and the cauda equina.

Laminectomy

An operation to remove part of the bony arches at the
back of a vertebrae. This is done to gain access to the
nerves in the foramen and allow them more space.

Lesion

A cut, sore or injury. Often used to describe the site of
injury to the spinal cord.

Ligaments

Bands of fibrous tissue that bind a joint and control its range of movement.

Lordosis

The concave curve found in the cervical and lumbar
regions of the spine. Flattening of the spine with loss of
the lordosis occurs in patients with disc protrusion. Can
be a deformity if it is excessive.

Lumbar

The area of the spine between the thoracic vertebrae and the sacrum .

Lumbago

An imprecise term for low back pain.