Vertebral Column (spine) Flashcards
Vetebral column (spine)
Serves as the axial support of the body
Extends from the skull to the pelvis
Supports the skull and transmits body weight to the lower limbs.
Structure of the spine
Made up of 26 irregular bones
Bones are connected and reinforced by ligaments
Results in a flexible,curved structure not rigid
Spinal cord
Runs through the central cavity of the veretebal column
Protected by vertebral column
Transmit signals between the brain and the rest of the body
Spine before birth
Consist of 33 separate bones (vertebrae)
9 of there bones fuse to form the sacrum and the coccyx which make up the lower part of the vertebral collumn
24 single bones in vertebral column
Cervical vertebrae (neck) :7 bones
Thoriac vertebrae (mid back) 12 bones
Lumber vertebrae (lower back) 5 bones
Intervertebral discs
Located between individual vertebrae
Made of flexible fibrocartilage
Cushion the vertebrae and absorb shock
Allow flexibility of the spine
Intervertebral discs change with age
In young people, discs have high water content about 90%
In youth discs are spongy and compressible
As a person ages water content decreases making the discs harder and less compressible
Aging and discs changing
Dying of the intervertebral discs and weakening of ligaments occur with age
These changes increase the risk of herniated (slipped) discs in older people
Causes of hernia toon
Can occur due to exceptional twisting forces on the vertebral column
Effects of herniated discs
A protruding disc may press on the spinal cord or spinal nerves
This pressure can cause symptoms such as numbness and excruciating pain
Role of vertebral column and discs
Prevent shock to the head during walking or running
Provide flexibility to the body trunk
Primary curvatures
Found in the thoracic and sacral regions
Present at birth, forming a c-shaped spine in newborns
Secondary curvatures
Found in the cervical and lumber regions
Develop after birth
Help centre body weight over the lower in adults
Cervical curvature
Appears when the baby begins to raise its head
Lumbar curvature
Develops when the baby begins to walk
Abnormal spinal curvatures
Scoliosis,kyphosis,lordosis
May result from disease poor posture
Body or centrum
Disclike, weight - bearing part of the vertebra facing anteriorly in the vertebral collumn
Vertebral arch
Arch formed from the joining of all posterior extensions
The laminar and pedicles
Form the vertebral body
Vertebral foramen
Canal through which the spinal cord passes
Transverse process
Two lateral projection form the vertebral arch
Spinous processes
Single projection arising from the posterior aspect of the vertebral arch
Cervicale vertebrae
Seven cervicle vertebrae form the neck region of the spine
The first two cervicle vertebrae (atlas and axis) are unique in function
Atlas
No body
Superior surfaces of its transverse process contain depression that receive the occipital condyles of the skull
This joint allows the head to nod yes
Axis
Acts as a pivot for the atlas and skull to rotate
Allows the to rotate no between the atlas and axis
Typical cervicle vertebrae
Located from the third to the seventh cervicle vertebrae
Small and lightest vertebrae in the spine
Most often have short spinous processes which are typically bifurcated devided into two branches
The typical cervicle vertebrae transverse pricy
Contain foramina openings
The vertebral arteries pass through these foramina on their way to the brain
Thoriac vertebrae
There are 12 thoracic vertebrae
Larger then the cervicle vertebrae
The only vertebrae that articulate with the ribs
Lumbar vertebrae
There Are five lumbar vertebrae
It’s the sturdiest most of the stress is on here
Sacrum
Formed by the fusion of five vertebrae
Inferioly connects the the coxyx
Superioly articulate with l5
Latterly with the hip bone
Coccyx
Is formed from the fusion of three to five tiny irregular shaped vertebrae
The humens tail bone
