Laboratory 15: Thoracic Cage and Vertebral Column Flashcards
Which skeleton are the vertebral column and thoracic cage apart of?
Axial skeleton.
How many bones in the vertebral column?
Consists of 26 bones.
What does the vertebral column form?
Vertical axis of the human skeleton.
What does the vertical column include?
7 cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae, five lumbar vertebrae one sacrum of 5 fused vertebrae, and one coccyx of four fused vertebrae.
How many cervical vertebrae?
7
How many thoracic vertebrae?
12
How many lumbar vertebrae?
5
How are vertebrae separated from one another?
By cartilaginous intervertebral discs and are held together by ligaments.
What does the thoracic cage surround?
Thoracic cavity and upper abdominal cavity.
What does the thoracic cage include?
The ribs, the sternum, the thoracic vertebrae and the costal cartilages.
What does the thoracic cage provide?
Protection for the heart and lungs.
What does the vertebral column extend from?
The vertebral column extends from the first cervical vertebra adjacent to the skull to the inferior tip of the coccyx.
What is the first cervical vertebrae?
C1
What is C1 also known as?
Atlas
Describe C1 (Atlas)
Has a posterior thornlike tubercule (Small knoblike) instead of a more pronounced spinous process.
What is the second cervical vertebrae?
C2
What is the second cervical vertebra also known as?
Axis
Describe axis (C2)
Has a superior projection, the dens (Odontoid) Process that serves as a pivot point for some rotational movements.
What is C7 often referred to as?
Vertebra prominens.
What do the 12 vertebrae (thoracic have)
Facets (Nearly flat) for the articulation sites of the 12 pairs of ribs.
What do the seven cervical vertebrae have?
Have the distinct feature of transverse foramina for passageway of blood vessels serving the brain.
What kind of spinous processes do thoracic vertebrae have?
Have spinous processes that are long and have an inferior angle.
Which vertebrae are the biggest?
Lumbar
Why are lumbar vertebrae larger then cervical/thoracic?
It allows for better support and resistance to twisting of the trunk and spinous processes that are rather short and blunt.
When do the sacral bones fuse into one single bone?
By age 26.
What does the medial sacral represent?
Fused spinous processes.
When do the usual four coccyx vertebrae fuse into a single bone?
About age 30.
When do the four curvatures of the vertebrae column develop?
Either before or after birth.
What are the primary curvatures?
Thoracic and sacral curvatures.
When do the primary curvatures form?
By the time of birth.
When does the cervical curvature develop?
By the time a baby is able to hold its head erect and crawl.
When does the lumbar curvature develop?
Forms by the time the child is able to walk.
What are the secondary curvatures?
Cervical and lumbar curvatures.
What do the four curvatures allow for?
Flexibility and resellience of the vertebral column and for it to function somewhat like a spring instead of a rod.
How many pairs of ribs?
Twelve pairs.
What are true ribs?
The superior seven pairs of ribs are connected directly to the sternum with coastal cartilage and are known as true ribs.
How many pairs of true ribs?
Seven
What are false ribs?
Five pairs of inferior ribs either connect indirectly to the sternum with coastal cartilage of do not connect to the sternum.
What are floating ribs?
Pairs 11 and 12 are called the floating ribs because they only connect with the thoracic vertebrae and not with the sternum.
What 3 regions eventually form the sternum?
Manibrum, body, xiphoid process eventually fuse into a single bone the sternum.
Where is the heart mainly located?
Beneath the body portion of the sternum.
Where should compressions during CPR be administered?
Should be over the body area of the sternum, not the xiphoid process region.
What would happen if a person did chest compressions over the xiphoid process region?
They can force the xiphoid process into the liver of the inferior portion of the heart and cause a fatal hemorrhage to occur.
