Which condition is described by pain in the legs following the path of the sciatic nerve?

• A. Sciatica
• B. Scoliosis
• C. Silicosis
• D. Sciatic nerve

Answer: (D)

Pain that travels down the leg along the route of the sciatic nerve is sciatica. This pattern happens when the sciatic nerve—or the nerve roots that feed into it—becomes irritated or compressed, often from causes like a herniated disk, spinal stenosis, or piriformis syndrome. The key idea is that the pain follows the actual path of the nerve from the lower back, through the buttock, and down the leg, which is characteristic of a radicular nerve problem. This distinguishes sciatica from scoliosis (a spinal curvature with back pain not necessarily following a nerve tract), silicosis (lung disease), or simply naming the nerve itself, which describes anatomy rather than a leg pain syndrome.