Vol 84, No 1 (2025): Folia Morphologica
Review article
Published online: 2025-01-27
Lumbar plexus — review
Abstract
The lumbar plexus is a collection of nerves, and it originates from the anterior
rami of the T12–L5 laterally to the intervertebral foramina. It gives off 6 peripheral
nerves, and in the available literature there are a lot of descriptions of each nerve
and its possible morphological variations. In some cases, the occurrence of accessory
nerve or absence of whole nerve is observed. In other cases, morphological
variations regarding the origin, course, or division into more branches are also
noticed. Such variations may be associated with some clinical aspects. Understanding
the anatomical variations of the lumbar plexus’s nerves is essential for
procedures involving the lower abdomen, regional anaesthesia, and managing
nerve entrapment syndromes.
The main aim of this review is to present condensed information on the lumbar
plexus based on the available literature. A further aim is to compare the classification
systems and the results of previous studies in adults and foetuses. This
manuscript also includes information on the most common clinical implications
associated with anatomical variations of the individual nerves of the lumbar plexus.
Keywords: lumbar plexusiliohypogastric nerveilioinguinal nervelateral femoral cutaneous nerveobturator nervegenitofemoral nervefemoral nerveanatomyembryologyanatomical variationsclinical significance
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