From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Anterior longitudinal ligament

Ligament running down the front of the vertebral column

Field	Value
Name	Anterior longitudinal ligament
Latin	ligamentum longitudinale anterius
Image	Gray301.png
Caption	Median sagittal section of two lumbar vertebræ and their ligaments. (Anterior longitudinal ligament runs vertically at center left.)
Image2	Gray304.png
Caption2	Anterior atlantooccipital membrane and atlantoaxial ligament. (Anterior longitudinal ligament runs vertically at bottom center.)
From	inferior basilar portion of occipital bone
To	sacrum
System	skeletal

The anterior longitudinal ligament is a ligament that extends across the anterior/ventral aspect of the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs the spine.

It may be partially cut to treat certain abnormal curvatures in the vertebral column, such as kyphosis.

Anatomy

The anterior longitudinal ligament extends superoinferiorly between the basiocciput of the skull and the anterior tubercle of the atlas (cervical vertebra C1) superiorly, and the superior part of the sacrum inferiorly;**** inferiorly, it ends at the sacral promontory. It broadens inferiorly.**** Inferiorly, it becomes continuous with the anterior sacrococcygeal ligament. Superiorly, between the skull and atlas, the ligament is continuous laterally with the anterior atlantooccipital membrane.****

The ligament is thick and slightly more narrow over the vertebral bodies and thinner but slightly wider over the intervertebral discs.

It tends to be narrower and thicker around thoracic vertebrae, and wider and thinner around cervical vertebrae and lumbar vertebrae.

Structure

The anterior longitudinal ligament adheres strongly to the periosteum of the vertebral bodies, but is less strongly connected with the intervertebral discs.****

It has three layers: superficial, intermediate and deep. The superficial layer traverses 3 – 4 vertebrae, the intermediate layer covers 2 – 3 and the deep layer is only between individual vertebrae.

Clinical significance

The anterior longitudinal ligament may become calcified, causing back pain.

Surgical release

The anterior longitudinal ligament may be "released", or partially cut, between two adjacent vertebrae. This may be done to treat abnormal curvature in the vertebral column, such as kyphosis. Osteoporosis, some infections, and past back surgery may prevent this surgery.

Additional images

File:Anatomy of the Neck Sagittal Color MRI.png|E:Anterior longitudinal ligament Image:Gray308.png|Median sagittal section through the occipital bone and first three cervical vertebræ. Image:Gray312.png|Costovertebral articulations. Anterior view.

References

(2011). "Last's Anatomy".
Kadasne, D. K.. (2009). "Kadasne's Textbook of Anatomy". Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers.
"anterior sacrococcygeal ligament".
(2018). "Clinically Oriented Anatomy". Wolters Kluwer.
Kayalioglu, Gulgun. (2009). "The spinal cord : a Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation text and atlas". [[Elsevier]] / [[Academic Press]].
Giles, Lynton G. F.. (2009). "100 challenging spinal pain syndrome cases". [[Elsevier]] / [[Churchill Livingstone]].
(2018). "Operative Techniques: Spine surgery". [[Elsevier]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

ligaments-of-the-torso bones-of-the-vertebral-column ligaments-of-the-head-and-neck

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Anterior longitudinal ligament — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report