• A surgical procedure that entails removing all (laminectomy) or part (laminotomy) of selected vertebral lamina to relieve pressure on the SPINAL CORD and/or SPINAL NERVE ROOTS. Vertebral lamina is the thin flattened posterior wall of vertebral arch that forms the vertebral foramen through which pass the spinal cord and nerve roots.
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• An operation in which all or part of one or both laminae is removed.
  Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
  Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
• Excision of the posterior arch of a vertebra.
  CRISP Thesaurus
  National Institutes of Health, 2006
• The excision of one or more vertebral posterior arches to alleviate pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Laminectomy is surgery that creates space by removing the lamina - the back part of a vertebra that covers your spinal canal. Also known as decompression surgery, laminectomy enlarges your spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
  Mayo Clinic
  Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2025