Sciatic nerve

Sciatic nerve
The largest nerve in the body, the sciatic nerve begins from nerve roots in the lumbar part of the spinal cord (in the low back) and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down to the legs. Pain resulting from irritation of the sciatic nerve is called sciatica. The pain is typically felt at the back of the thigh. While sciatica is most commonly a result of a disc herniation directly pressing on the nerve, any cause of irritation or inflammation of this nerve can reproduce the symptoms of sciatica. The name "sciatic" came via Latin from the Greek "ischiadikos" which means "subject to trouble in the hips or loins."

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sciatic nerve n either of the pair of largest nerves in the body that arise one on each side from the sacral plexus and that pass out of the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen and down the back of the thigh to its lower third where division into the tibial and common peroneal nerves occurs

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the major nerve of the leg and the nerve with the largest diameter. It runs down behind the thigh from the lower end of the spine; above the knee joint it divides into two main branches, the tibial and common peroneal nerves, which are distributed to the muscles and skin of the lower leg.

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nervus ischiadicus.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • sciatic nerve — ► NOUN Anatomy ▪ a major nerve extending from the lower end of the spinal cord down the back of the thigh …   English terms dictionary

  • sciatic nerve — Anat. either of a pair of nerves, the largest in the body, that originate in the sacral plexus of the lower back and extend down the buttocks to the back of the knees, where they divide into other nerves: the sciatic nerve and its branches… …   Universalium

  • sciatic nerve stretch test — a variant of the straight leg–raising test in which after the leg is raised, the ankle is dorsiflexed; if this increases pain, it indicates abnormal tension of the sciatic nerve root …   Medical dictionary

  • sciatic nerve — the major nerve of the leg and the nerve with the largest diameter. It runs down behind the thigh from the lower end of the spine; above the knee joint it divides into two main branches, the tibial and common peroneal nerves, which are… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • sciatic nerve — noun arises from the sacral plexus and passes about halfway down the thigh where it divides into the common peroneal and tibial nerves • Syn: ↑nervus ischiadicus • Hypernyms: ↑nerve, ↑nervus • Part Holonyms: ↑leg * * * noun, pl ⋯ nerves [count] …   Useful english dictionary

  • sciatic nerve — noun Date: 1741 either of the pair of largest nerves in the body that arise one on each side from the nerve plexus supplying the posterior limb and pelvic region and that pass out of the pelvis and down the back of the thigh …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • sciatic nerve — noun A large nerve that starts in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the lower limb …   Wiktionary

  • sciatic nerve — n. (Anatomy) largest main nerve in the body running down from the lower end of the spinal cord to the back of the muscle of the thigh and extends through the buttock endings down at the legs …   English contemporary dictionary

  • sciatic nerve — noun Anatomy a major nerve extending from the lower end of the spinal cord down the back of the thigh …   English new terms dictionary

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