Sacral Nerves

Sacral nerves are the spinal nerves that arise from vertebral column through the sacrum. The roots of these nerves begin inside of the vertebral column in the level of the L1 vertebra and they extend until the sacrum forming a structure called the cauda equina.

The Sacral nerves are 10 and half of them arise through sacrum in the left side and the other half in the right side. Also, each nerve emerges in two divisions: one division through anterior sacral foramina and the other division through the posterior sacral foramina of the sacrum.

The nerves divide in branches and the branches from different nerves join with one another, some of them join with lumbar or coccygeal nerves’ branches too. These anastomoses of nerves form the sacral plexus and the lumbosacral plexus. The branches of these plexus give rise to nerves that supply much of the hip, thigh, leg and foot.

The Sacral nerves have both afferent and efferent fibers, thus they are responsible for part of the sensory perception and the movements of the lower extremity of the human body. From the S2, S3 and S4 raise parasympathetic fibers whose electrical potential supply the descending colon and rectum, urinary bladder and genital organs. These pathways have both afferent and efferent fiber and, this way, they are responsible for conduct sensory information from these pelvic organs to central nervous system (CNS) and motor impulses from the CNS to the pelvis that control the movements of these pelvic organs.