GAS DISCHARGE LAMP

A discharge lamp comprising an elongated discharge vessel, preferably made of a ceramic material, surrounded by an outer envelope and having a wall which encloses a discharge space containing an inert gas and an ionizable filling, wherein at both ends in said discharge space an electrode is arranged between which a discharge arc can be maintained along a discharge path, wherein one end of the discharge vessel is mounted in a mounting base, said lamp comprising a lead-back conductor supplying current from the mounting base to the electrode at the other end of the discharge vessel, characterized in that the lead-back conductor extends through the length of the wall of the outer envelope.