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Lumbar vertebrae
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
The lumbar vertebrae (vertebrae lumbales) have a large bean-shaped body. The height of the body increases in the direction from the 1st to the 5th vertebra. The vertebral openings are large, almost triangular in shape. The transverse processes are located almost in the frontal plane. The spinous processes are flat, short, with thickened ends. The articular surfaces of the upper articular processes are directed medially, and the lower ones are directed laterally. On each upper articular process there is a small tubercle - the mammillary process (processus mamillaris).
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