Lateral branch
Ramus lateralis
Definition
The lateral branches of the posterior rami of the lumbar nerves supply the Sacrospinalis. The upper three (the superior clunial nerves) give off cutaneous nerves which pierce the aponeurosis of the Latissimus dorsi at the lateral border of the Sacrospinalis and descend across the posterior part of the iliac crest to the skin of the buttock, of their twigs running as far as the level of the greater trochanter.
The largest descending lateral branch is called the posterior cutaneous branch (Posterior cutaneous nerve).
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
