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Iliolumbar ligament (MRI)

Case contributed by Mauricio Macagnan
Diagnosis not applicable
mri

The red arrows represent the iliolumbar ligament in different planes and the figure is represented in red.

Case Discussion

The iliolumbar ligament is often easily identified in MRI scans and helps in cases where there is doubt as to the number of lumbar vertebrae, because in most cases (96%) is inserted into the L5 transverse process.
In cases where the patient has transition vertebra, the ligament can be used as an anatomical reference for defining the lumbar vertebrae.

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