Vertebral Column Flashcards
Name the segments and number of vertebrae in the vertebral column
Cervical 7 Thoracic 12 Lumbar 5 Sacral 5 Coccyx 4
When does the first natural lordosis occur?
3 to 4 months
How does the size of the vertebral column progress?
Increase in size to S1 then a decrease in size to Cx4
What are the two dorsal cavities?
Spinal and Cranial cavities
What are the anterior cavities?
Thoracic and adominalpelivc cavity
Name the natural curvature of each region of the vertebral column.
Cervical: lordosis Thoracic: kyphosis Lumbar: Lordosis Sacral: kyphosis
What is the natural kyphosis experienced by a newborn baby?
The natural curve a baby is born with
What makes the vertebral canal?
The body, pedirle and Lamellae
What structures surround the intervertebral foramen?
Pedicle, body, intervertebral disc, zygapophyseal joint
What ligament prevents compression of the spinal cord by the dens?
Transverse ligament of atlas
What is unique to the cervical region?
Transverse foramen
Which cervicals are typical?
3-6
Which cervicals are atypical?
1,2,7
What is the most important feature of the thoracic vertebra?
Costal facets
What is the costosoma joint?
Rib head to body of vertebrae
What is the costotransverse joint?
Rib tubercle to Tp of vertebrae
What are the characteristics of the Lumbar region
Absence of transverse foramina Large body Mammillary and accessory processes
What sacral part is 1 cm anterior to the body’s venter of gravity?
Sacral promontory
What is the evidence of fusion of the sacral region on the posterior side?
Median sacral crest is the fused spinous processes
What are the lateral sacral crest?
The fused transverse processes of the sacral vertebrae
What are the zygapophyseal joints?
Interlocking of superior and inferior articular processes
Define scoliosis.
Lateral deviation and rotation which may lead to compression/herniation of IVD
What leads to scoliosis?
Asymmetry (muscle, bone) May be congenital, idiopathic or neuromuscular in causation Neuromuscular cases are NTD, cerebral palsy or 2* trauma
What is jeffersons fracture and hanged man fracture?
- Atlas fracture @ anterior or post. Arches 2. Axis fracture @ pedicle
What breaks in a jeffersons fracture?
Anterior and posterior arch
What breaks in a hanged man’s fracture?
Pedicle of axis (c2)
What is Spondylolysis?
A defect or stress fracture in the pars interarticularis of the vertebral arch
What is spondylolisthesis?
One bone in your vertebrae slides forward over the bone below it
What vertebrae acts as the fulcrum in an automobile accident?
C4
