: crura), refers to one of two tendinous structures that extends below the diaphragm to the vertebral column.

The medial tendinous margins of the crura pass anteriorly and medialward, and meet in the middle line to form an arch across the front of the aorta known as the median arcuate ligament; this arch is often poorly defined.

The fibers arising from the xiphoid process are very short, and occasionally aponeurotic; those from the medial and lateral lumbocostal arches, and more especially those from the ribs and their cartilages, are longer, and describe marked curves as they ascend and converge to their insertion.

The fibers of the crura diverge as they ascend, the most lateral being directed upward and lateralward to the central tendon.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 405 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)