Session 8 Flashcards
Structure of the Vertebral column
- How many vertebrae are there? What are each of the sections of the vertebrae called & how many vertebrae are in each section
- How many Discrete Single Vertebrae are there? What does this allow?
- Mobile section of the spine ?
- Immobile section of the spine?
- How many vertebrae are fused? What do the fused vertebrae form?
- 33 vertebrae: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, 4 coccygeal
- 24 separable vertebrae • All capable of individual movement
- Cervical & Lumbar
- Relatively Immobile – Thoracic (due to ribs & angles)
- 9 vertebrae fused to give 2 innominate structures
– Sacrum (fusion of 5 vertebrae)
– Coccyx (fusion of 4 vertebrae)
Functions of the Vertebral column LO
What are the five functions?
- Central bony pillar of the body.
- Supports the skull, pelvis, upper limbs & the thoracic cage.
- Protection of the spinal cord & the
cauda equina
• Movement - Highly flexible structure of
bones, intervertebral discs & ligaments
• Haemopoiesis – red marrow
How does the vertebrae protect the spinal cord?
- Acts a conduit through which spinal cord passes
- Allows spinal (segmental) nerves to leave or join the cord at specified points
Centre of gravity
- The weight of the body is projected into ?
- Vertebral bodies increase in size ? as ?
- Describe the sacral vertebrae:
- lower limbs about a line that
passes centrally through the natural
curvatures of the vertebral column
- inferiorly, compression forces increase
- fused, widened &
concave anteriorly to transmit weight of the body through pelvis to legs
What are the Movements of lumbar spine, draw the pictures
General characteristics:
- Kidney shaped vertebral body
- Vertebral arch posteriorly
- Vertebral foramen: for spinal cord & meninges
Vertebral arch:
How many spinous processes does it give rise to? What are the spinous
Gives rise to 7 processes
- x1 Spinous Process
- x2 Transverse Process
- x2 Superior Articular Process
- X2 Inferior Articular Process
Vertebral body
- What is the vertebrae made up of?
- Major site of contact between ?
- End Plates - Articular surfaces
covered with ?
- Linked to adjacent vertebral bodies by ?
- Size increases from?
- Why 90% cancellous?
- Usually the largest part of the vertebra – 10% Cortical Bone
90% Cancellous Bone
• Usually the main weight bearing part of the vertebra - 80% - adjacent vertebrae
- hyaline cartilage
- intervertebral discs
- superior to inferior
- Light weight allows haemopoeisis/ other functions
Laminectomy:
removal of the spinous process & the laminar
Increase the space of the nerves themselves
Name all the vertebral processes?
- 1 spinous process
- 2 transverse
processes (left and
right)
• 2 superior articular
processes (facets)
interlock with the
vertebra above
• 2 inferior articular
processes (not shown) interlock with the vertebra below.
- ? connects
transverse process to
spinous process 2. ? connects
transverse process to
body
- Lamina + pedicle =
- Lamina
- Pedicle
- vertebral arch
Superior and inferior articular processes…
- Are lined with ?
- ? are formed
between vertebral arches of adjacent vertebrae
- Spinal nerves emerge through ?
- Strengthened by ?
- cartilage
- Synovial joints
- intervertebral foramina
- Ligamentum
Flavum
Movement at facet joints
- Articulation of superior and inferior articular processes =
- What are the benefits of the Interlocking design?
- Orientation determines amount of ?
- facet joint (synovial)
- Prevents anterior displacement of vertebrae
- flexion & rotation permitted
Lumbar facet joints
Intervertebral discs
- Account for ? of the length of the vertebral column
- What is it made up of?
- Loose height with ?
- Slightly ? → secondary curvature of spine
- Consist of two regions:
- 25%
- 70% Water, 20% Collagen, 10% Proteglycans
- age
- wedge-shaped
- – nucleus pulposus (central)
– annulus fibrosus (peripheral)
Annulus fibrosus
Highly complex design
- What is it made from?
- What does it surround?
- Function?
- lamellae of annular bands in varying orientations,
outer lamellae Type 1 collagen,
Inner lamellae are fibro-cartilaginous,
Avascular and aneural
- Surrounds nucleus pulposus
- Is the major ‘shock absorber’ • Highly resilient under
compression - stronger than the
vertebral body
Nucleus pulposus
- Remnant of ?
- Made up of?
- High ?
- Changes in ? throughout day
- Changes in size with ?
- Surrounded entirely by ?
- Where is it located in the infant
- Located more ? in the adult
- notochord
- Gelatinous, Type 2 Collgen
- osmotic pressure
- size
- age
- annulus
fibrosus
- Centrally
- posteriorly
Manual handling
Intervertebral discs are very strong in ‘?’
axial compression
Ligaments of the vertebral column
- Function?
- Major ligaments:
- Provide stability
- anterior longitudinal and posterior longitudinal ligament (anterior and posterior to vertebral bodies)
• Anterior is stronger than posterior
Anterior longitudinal ligament
- Where does it start & finish
- United with ? of vertebral bodies
- ? over intervertebral discs
- Prevents ?
- Anterior tubercle of atlas to sacrum
- periosteum
- Mobile
- hyperextension
Posterior longitudinal ligament
- Where does it start & finish?
- Continues superior to axis as ‘?’
- Is it strong or weak?
- Prevents ?
- Position dictates where disc prolapse
- Body of axis to sacral canal
- tectorial membrane
- Relatively weak
- hyperflexion
5.
Ligamentum flavum
- Why is it Yellow in colour 2. What is it between?
- Stretched during ? of the spine
- elastic fibres
- Between laminae of adjacent vertebrae
- flexion
Interspinous ligaments
- Relatively weak sheets of ?
- Unite ? along adjacent borders
- Well developed only in the ? region (stability in flexion)
- Fuse with ? ligaments
- fibrous tissue
- spinous processes
- lumbar
- supraspinous
Supraspinous ligaments
- What is it attached to?
- What is it made of? Strong or weak?
- Lax in ?
- Tight in ?
- Tips of adjacent spinous processes
- Strong bands of white fibrous tissue
- extension
- flexion
(mechanical support for vertebral column)
During flexion complete the forces in the diagram
Sacrum & coccyx
- Sacrum consists of ? fused vertebrae
- Articulates with? (3)
!Learn the osteology yourselves!
- 5
- L5 superiorly ,
ilium laterally, & coccyx inferiorly
