sciatic nerve

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. 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 innervate large areas of the pelvis, leg, and foot.

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sciatic nerve Scientific  

/ sī-ăt′ĭk /

1. A thick nerve that arises in the lower part of the spine and passes through the pelvis on its way to the back of the leg. It carries sensory information from the leg to the central nervous system and controls the action of many muscles. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body.

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Etymology

Origin of sciatic nerve

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

A large wallet can tilt your pelvis and compress your sciatic nerve.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

Sciatica is pain or numbness that follows the path of the sciatic nerve from the lower back down the leg.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

A glute strain began affecting his sciatic nerve and the pain left Bosa unable to do anything except lie on an exercise ball in the fetal position for hours.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2024

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body, and the irritation of that nerve that causes the pain better known as sciatica is usually a result of pressure from the bony spinal column.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2023

He used an electric current to stimulate an amphibian’s calf, then employed the galvanometer to measure how long it took the electrical current to run along the sciatic nerve.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel