Anatomy Of Spine Flashcards
Ligaments of spine
Anterior Longitudinal Ligament (ALL)
A primary spine stabilizer
About one-inch wide, the ALL runs the entire length of the spine from the base of the skull to the sacrum. It connects the front (anterior) of the vertebral body to the front of the annulus fibrosis.
Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (PLL)
A primary spine stabilizer
About one-inch wide, the PLL runs the entire length of the spine from the base of the skull to sacrum. It connects the back (posterior) of the vertebral body to the back of the annulus fibrosis.
Supraspinous Ligament
This ligament attaches the tip of each spinous process to the other.
Interspinous Ligament This thin ligament attaches to another ligament called the ligamentum flavum that runs deep into the spinal column.
Ligamentum Flavum
The strongest ligament
This yellow ligament is the strongest. It runs from the base of the skull to the pelvis, in front of and between the lamina, and protects the spinal cord and nerves. The ligamentum flavum also runs in front of the facet joint capsules.
What intervertebral discus made of
Pads of fibrocartilage
Action of discs
Distribute stress evenly on bodies, while allowing movement between them
What do neural arches & their honey prominences do
Surround and protect cord
Act like levers so that attached muscles and ligaments can effect or limit movement
What kind of joints are apophyseal joints and job
Plane synovial - stabilise spine and protect discs from high shear and torsion forces in the transverse plane (horizontal)
What part of the disc is soft gel with a high water content
Central region, nucleus’s pulposus
Vasculraisation of adult discs
Nerves confined to the very outermost annulus where it merges with the longitudinal ligaments
What are the vertebral end plants
A thin shell of cortical bone which contains many small perforations where it lies adjacent to the disc
They are separated from the discs by a thin layer of hyaline cartilage, which serves to retard water loss from the nucleus’s u to the vertebral
Body and to regulate the movements of molecules in the other direction
