[Techniques for opacification of the lumbar spinal venous plexuses (author's transl)]

No single technique exists for lumbar phlebography. Whilst catheterisation of the ilio-lumbar veins is always the first step, it should be routinely followed by injection of the lateral sacral veins whenever the leel L5-S1 is clinically suspicious. Finally, when only poor opacification of the longitudinal epidural plexuses is obtained by filateral injection of the ilio-lumbar or ilio-lumbar and sacral systems, catheterisation of the vein in L2 on the right or L3 on the left makes it possible in virtually all cases to obtain satisfactory filling of the lumbar plexuses. It may be considered at the present time that, from a technical standpoint, failures of lumbar phlebography by bilateral femoral catheterisation do not exceed 1% of cases.