|
An 80 year-old woman presented with progressive back and leg pain and weakness of the right hip flexors and knee extensors, associated with paresthesias of the right medial calf. On examination, the right knee reflex was absent. |
| Lumbar Plexopathy:
Axial CT scans of the abdomen and
pelvis. Note the large pelvic mass on the right. Because of its
position, it compresses the lumbar plexus which runs inferior to the iliacus muscle.
A biopsy of the mass showed large cell
lymphoma. In this case, the mid-lumbar plexus was predominantly affected. The hip flexors and knee extensors are supplied by the L2-L3-L4 roots. After the lumbosacral roots leave the spinal cord, they course through the pelvis and intermix to form the lumbar and sacral plexi. These plexi then form the individual large named nerves that run down the lower extremity (e.g., femoral, obturator, sciatic nerves). |
Revised
11/29/06
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston