The zone, within the vertebral canal, sagittally between the plane of the medial edges of the pedicles and the plane of the medial edges of the facets, and coronally between the planes of the posterior surfaces of the vertebral bodies and the under anterior surfaces of the superior facets. Syn: lateral recess, posterolateral zone. Note: The subarticular zone cannot be precisely delineated because the structures that define the planes of the zone are irregular. The lateral recess refers more appropriately to the space beneath the facet at the pedicular level than as synonymous with the entire subarticular zone. AJNR