Back and Vertebra Flashcards
What is the primary function of the vertebal column?
Weight Bearing
What type of joints are facet joints?
Synovial Plane
What do processes act as a site for?
Muscle attachments
What does the vertebral column protect?
Spinal cord
Spinal nerves
Where is the spinal cord situated in respect to the vertebra?
Inside the vertebra
What do all vertebra have?
Neural Arch
Body
Processes
What is the most commonly self reported chronic illness?
Back problems
What is contained within the vertebral canal?
Veins
Arteries
Fat
What is the erector spinae there to do?
Keep us upright
Where is the secondary cartilaginous joint situated within a typical vertebra?
The body
The neural arch is made of what 2 things?
Pedicles and lamina
What is the hole in the vertebra called?
The foramen
What facets does each vertebra have?
2 superior articular
2 inferior articular
What is the joint between the C1 and C2 joints called?
Atlanto-axial joint
All 7 cervical vertebrae have what?
Transverse foramena
In the cervical vertebrae, what is special about the spinous process?
It is split
How many thoracic vertebrae are there?
12
What is the shape of the body of the thoracic vertebra?
Heart-shaped
What do lumbar vertebrae not contain?
Facets
Foramen
What is the sacrum made by?
5 individual vertebra that have fused together
In the sacrum, what do the anterior foramena transmit?
The ventral rami
What do the coccyx vertebra attach to?
Pelvic floor
What is the name of the ligament that cover the anterior aspect of vertebral bodies?
The anterior longitudinal ligament
Why do ruptured discs often rupture at the back rather than the front?
Because the ligament is much thinner
What do the interspinous and supraspinous ligaments do?
Connect the spines
Where are the interspinous and supraspinous ligaments thickened?
The cervical region
What type of joint are the inter-vertebral discs?
Secondary Cartilaginous
What is the atlantooccipital joint?
Joint between back of skull and the the atlas
What type of joints do the ribs have?
Synovial planes
What are IV discs made of?
Fibrocartilage
Between which two cervical vertebrae are no IV disc found?
C1 and C2
Nucleus pulposus is what?
The fluid middle of an IV disc
What is the outside of an IV disc called?
Annulus fibrosus
What is the primary function of an IV disc?
To act as a shock absorber
What is another name for a slipped disc?
Herniated disc
What does a herniated disc compress on?
Roots
Nerves
Spinal cord
What is the movement at the atlantoaxial joint?c1-c2
Rotation/pivoting
What are the movements at the atlantooccipital joint? co-c1
Flexion
Extension
circumduction
What are kyphosises?
Primary curvatures of the back
What is the name given to any curvature to the side of the body?
Scoliosis
What does the spinal cord end as?
Conus medullaris
In an adult, where does the spinal cord end?
L1
What is the hard outer membrane of the spinal cord?
Dura mater
Where is the cerebro-spinal fluid located?
The sub-arachnoid mater
Where is the sub-arachnoid mater situated?
Between the pia mater and arachnoid mater
Where does the pia mater extend down to?
The coccyx
Where is cerebro-spinal fluid found down until?
S3
What level is the most prominent cervical process found?
C7
What is found at L4?
Superior aspect of iliac crest
What is the name given plane where the superior aspect of the iliac crest is situated?
Intercristal plane
Where do sympathetic fibres originate?
In the lateral horn cells
T1-L2) (S2-S4
Where do the sympathetic fibres synapse?
In the sympathetic chain ganglion
Where do sympathetic fibres emerge in the ventral root via?
White ramus communicans
What do the dorsal and ventral rami contain?
Sensory, motor and sympathetic fibres
What is the sympathetic chain?
A distribution mechanism for sympathetic supply from between T1-L2 to all parts of the body
Are synapses able to move up or down the chain to synapse in a different level ganglion?
Yes
What are the viscera?
Internal organs of the body
Where do postganglionic sympathetic fibres go in terms of the viscera?
The thoracic viscera
Where do preganglionic sympathetic fibres go in terms of the viscera?
The abdominal viscera
What is the splanchnic nerve?
A nerve that goes to the organs
Where do the abdominal splanchnic nerves synapse?
In the prevertebral ganglia
General sympathetic sensory impulses from the ANS run with which type of fibres?
Parasympathetic fibres
Pain impulses run with what in the pelvis?
Parasympathetic fibres
At which levels do the parasympathetic fibres arise from the CNS?
C3,7,9 and 10
S2-4
What are the S2-S4 parasympathetic nerves often referred to?
Pelvic splanchnic nerves
What does the common iliac divide into?
Internal iliac
External iliac
Where are superficial veins found?
In the subcutaneous tissue
Where do the azygos veins drain to?
The superior vena cava
What is the name given to a vein joining two capillary beds?
A portal bein
What is special about the sentinel lymph nodes?
They are the first lymph nodes draining a cancer
What is another word for dorsal?
Posterior
Where does dorsal sit closer to?
The back
What is the primary function of the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid?
Protect CNS
Between which 2 meningeal layers is the subdural space found?
Arachnoid mater
Dura mater
What are the tributaries of the superior vena cava?
Brachiocephalic veins
What are the tributaries of the inferior vena cava?
Common iliac veins
What does the descending abdominal aorta split into?
The common iliac arteries
What is the function of the azygos venous system?
Drains blood from the posterior thoracic wall to the SVC
Where are the azygos veins found?
Immediately adjacent to the thoracic aorta
What does the lymphatic system provide a potential route for?
Metastasis in cancer cells
Which cell types are found in the lymphoid follicles?
Lymphocytes
Where does the thoracic duct commence?
The cisterna chyli
Vertebral level L1
Which duct drains the upper right quadrant?
Lymphatic duct
What is the cauda equine?
Bundle of spinal nerves
To which vertebral level does the dura mater descend?
S3
Where is the spinal epidural space found?
Outside the dura mater
Between dura mater and the bony surface
A vertebral venous plexus drains what?
Both vertebrae and spinal cord
Where are the cell bodies situated in the spinal cord?
The gray matter
How many ganglia are present in the autonomic motor neuron?
2
How is the sympathetic chain situated?
Paravertebrally
White rc convey fibres from?
Spinal cord to sympathetic chain
Which spinal nerves contain parasympathetic fibres?
S2-S4
