The Vertebral Column

Question 0

What are the 6 functions of the vertebral column?

Answer 0

1. pillar of support for the trunk and the cranium
2. flexible enough to permit bending of the trunk but strong enough to serve as a base for attachment of ligaments and as a lever for the attachment of skeletal muscles which keep the body upright
3. to provide articular surfaces for the attachment of ribs
4. to protect the spinal chord and the roots of the spinal nerves
5. to transmit the weight of the trunk to the inferior extremities
6. to absorb shock forces from the lower limb which protects the structures inside the cranium

Question 1

What is the term used to describe regions of identical segments along the length of an organism?

Answer 1

Metameric Segmentation

Question 2

What is vertebral canal?

Answer 2

When vertebrae superimpose on one another their vertebral foremans line up and the spinal chord passes through this

Question 3

What are the regions of the vertebral column and how many vertebrae are in each?

Answer 3

• The cervical region contains C1-C7
• The thoracic region contains T1-T12 (one for each pair of ribs)
• The lumbar region contains L1-L5
• The saccryl region contains the sacrum (5 fused vertebrae)
• The coccygeal region contains the coccyx (2-5 fused vertebrae)

Question 4

How many intervertebral discs are there and where are they in comparison to the 26 vertebrae?

Answer 4

There are 23 and the lie inferior to C2 and go all the way to superior S1 so there are no discs in the sacrum or coccyx and there are none between C1 and C2

Question 5

What are the intervertebral discs made of?

Answer 5

The outside is concentric rings of fibrocartilidge called the annulus fibrosis and there is a central jelly like structure called the nucleus pulposis

Question 6

In a normal spine describe the curvatures that would arise:

Answer 6

There are two dorsal concavities and two dorsal convexities when you look at the body from behind:

• The dorsal convexities are in the thoracic and saccryl regions
• The dorsal convexities are in the cervical and lumbar regions

Question 7

What is the purpose of curvatures of the spine?

Answer 7

1. help keep head and upper body over the centre of gravity to help balance
2. absorb shock forces passing from the feet to the cranium to protect the structures located there

Question 8

Changes in curvature can occur due to disease, name the following disease associated with:

1. exaggeration of the lumbar dorsal concavity?
2. exaggeration of the thoracic dorsal convexity?
3. abnormal lateral and rotational curve often accompanied by number 2?

Answer 8

1. Lordosis
2. Kyphosis
3. Scoliosis