Vertebral Column Flashcards
Central bony pillar of the body; 72 to 75 cm in length (1/4 is formed by the IV discs)
Vertebral column
Functions of vertebral column
Support
Protection
Locomotion
Regions of vertebral column
Cervical Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Coccygeal
No. of vertebrae in: cervical
7
No. of vertebrae in: thoracic
12
No. of vertebrae in: lumbar
5
No. of vertebrae in: sacral
5 (fused)
No. of vertebrae in: coccygeal
4 (lower three fused)
Parts of vertebra
Body
Vertebral arch
Seven processes
Anterior part of the vertebra
Body
Posterior to the vertebral body and enclosed the vertebral foramen
Vertebral arch
Gives rise to 7 processes
Vertebral arch
2 parts of vertebral arch
Pedicles and laminae
attached to the vertebral body forming the sides of the arch
Pedicles
- flattened
- attached to the pedicle
- completing the arch posteriorly
Laminae
Where the spinal cord and its coverings run though
Vertebral foramen
Contains the spinal cord and the roots of the spinal nerves, along with the meninges, fat, and vessels that surround and serve them
Vertebral canal
Formed by the succession of vertebral foramina in the articulated vertebral column
Vertebral canal
Notch on the upper and lower border of the pedicles that are formed by the projection of the body (anteriorly) and the articulating processes (posteriorly)
Vertebral notch
The superior notch of one vertebra + inferior notch of an adjacent vertebra = ?
intervertebral foramina
Serve to transmit spinal nerves and blood vessels and Where anterior and posterior nerve roots of a spinal nerve unite to form the segmental spinal nerves
intervertebral foramina
Types of processes
Spinous process
Transverse process
Articular process
Process:
- Median
- Projects posteriorly from the vertebral arch at the junction of the laminae
Spinous process
Number of spinous process
1
Process: Directed laterally from the junction of the pedicles and laminae
Transverse process
Number of transverse process
2
T or F: Both spinous and transverse processes serve as levers and attachments of muscles and ligaments, facilitating the muscles that fix or change the position of the vertebrae
T
Process:
- Vertically arranged
- Consist of 2 superior and 2 inferior processes
- Arise from the junction of the laminae and the pedicles
Articular process
Number of articular process
4
Articular surfaces are covered with _______
hyaline cartilage
Assist in keeping adjacent vertebrae aligned, preventing one vertebra from slipping anteriorly
Articular processes
Typical cervical vertebrae
C3-C6
Vertebrae from the skeleton of the neck
Cervical vertebrae
T or F: the vertebral artery passes through the transverse processes of C1 to C7.
F, C1 to C6, not C7
Atypical cervical vertebra
C1, C2, C7
– atlas
- Body: no body
- Vertebral arch: has an anterior and posterior arch – ring-shaped bone
C1
– axis
- Has a peg-like odontoid process (dens) that projects from the superior surface of the body
- The dens represents the body of the atlas that has fused with the body of the axis
C2
Called the vertebra prominens because its prominent – palpable at the back of the neck
C7