Spine · Interactive 3D

Lumbar vertebra

A single lumbar vertebra from above and behind: the vertebral body, pedicles, laminae, transverse and spinous processes, the superior and inferior articular processes and the pars interarticularis.

Interactive — drag to rotate

AI-assisted model. Labels checked against standard anatomy references; specialist review pending.

What to look at

1The large kidney-shaped body carries axial load; lumbar vertebrae have no transverse foramina (those are cervical) and no rib facets (thoracic).
2The pedicles join the body to the posterior elements; pedicle screws run through them into the body.
3The pars interarticularis is the bone between the superior and inferior articular processes. A stress fracture here is spondylolysis, most often at L5.
4The lumbar facets face mostly medially and laterally (sagittally oriented), allowing flexion and extension but little rotation.

Hotspots

1Vertebral body — Kidney-shaped and large in the lumbar spine.
2Vertebral foramen — Triangular in the lumbar spine; contains the cauda equina below L1–L2.
3Superior articular process — Faces backwards and medially to meet the inferior process of the vertebra above.
4Transverse process — Lumbar transverse processes are long and thin.
5Pars interarticularis — Site of spondylolysis, usually at L5.
6Inferior articular process — Forms the facet joint with the vertebra below.
7Spinous process — Broad, square and horizontal in the lumbar spine.

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