Iliolumbar membrane, a newly recognised structure in the back.
2006
Despite intensive research in the anatomical sciences for the last two centuries,
some structures of the human body still remain controversial or incompletely
described.
We describe a new membranous fascial anatomical entity, which we refer to as
the iliolumbar membrane (ILM). During the 2004-2005 academic semesters at
the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine we dissected
40 human cadavers fixed in formalin-alcohol-phenol solution. Iliolumbar membrane
is a thick connective tissue structure, deep to the skin, originating from
the fibres of the thoracolumbar fascia at the lateral border of the erector spinae.
It runs inferior to the superior border of the iliac crest, lateral to the posterior
superior iliac spine, overlying the iliac crest at the level of the 4 th lumbar vertebra.
Iliolumbar membrane terminates within subcutaneous fat, where it divides
into multiple layers. All cadavers showed considerable variation in the blending
of the membrane’s multiple layers with the subcutaneous fat. However, all specimens
consistently showed a uniform appearance of ILM at the point of origin.
Iliolumbar membrane could be demonstrated objectively by ultrasound examination
with a frequency of 7.5 MHz and also with a Stryker endoscope. A hypothesis
is put forth, conjecturing that this new structure may have relevance in
creating a natural barrier between the musculature of the back and the muscles
of the gluteal region, similar to Scarpa’s fascia of the anterior abdominal wall.
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