Anatom3DPosterior longitudinal ligament
Ligamentum longitudinale posterius · Zadní podélný vaz
Joints & cartilage
Looks like
A narrower band down the back of the vertebral bodies, inside the spinal canal, just in front of the spinal cord.
What it does
Limits forward bending and holds the back of the discs, which is why most slipped discs escape to one side.
Keeping it well
Can thicken and turn to bone (OPLL), narrowing the canal and pressing on the cord; hand clumsiness and unsteady gait need an MRI.
Related conditions
- Axial spondyloarthritis
- Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
- Gout
- Haemophilia & bleeding disorders
- Lyme disease
- Marfan syndrome & connective tissue disorders
- Osteoarthritis
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Rheumatic fever & rheumatic heart disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Scoliosis
- Spina bifida & neural tube defects
- Spinal cord injury
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Temporomandibular joint disorder