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Vertebral column
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The vertebral
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part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is
the Variants
defining characteristic
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of a vertebrate, in which the
notochord (a
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flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all More
chordates has been replaced by a segmented series of
bones—vertebrae
Interaction separated by intervertebral discs.[1] The Search
vertebral column houses the spinal canal, a cavity that
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encloses and protects the spinal cord. Search Wikipedia Go
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There are about
Community portal 50,000 species of animals that have a
vertebral column.[2] The human vertebral column is one of the
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Contents
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Upload file The human vertebral column and its regions
1 Structure
Special pages
1.1 Vertebrae
Permanent link
1.2 Shape
Page1.3 Surfaces
information
1.4 Ligaments
Wikidata item
Cite 1.5 Development
this page
2 Function
2.1 Spinal cord
Print/export
3 Create
Clinical significance
a book
3.1 Disease
Download as PDF
3.2 Curvature
Printable version
3.3 Anatomical landmarks Vertebral column of a goat
4 In
Other animals
other projects
4.1 Variations in vertebrae Details
4.2 Regional
Wikimedia Commons vertebrae
Latin Columna vertebralis
4.3 Fish and amphibians
4.4 Other vertebrates
Languages Anatomical terminology
4.5 Dinosaurs
Afrikaans [edit on Wikidata]
5 Alemannisch
See also
6 ‫العربية‬
References
7 External links
Atikamekw
Structure
Avañe'ẽ [edit]
Авар
[3]

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InAymar
humans
aru vertebral column there are normally thirty-three vertebrae; the upper twenty-four are
articulating
Azərbaycanca and separated from each other by intervertebral discs, and the lower nine are fused in adults,
five in the sacrum and four in the coccyx or tailbone. The articulating vertebrae are named according to
Bân-lâm-gú
their region of the spine. There are seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae and five lumbar
Беларуская
vertebrae. The number of vertebrae in a region can vary but overall the number remains the same. The
Беларуская
number of those in the cervical region however is only rarely changed.[4]
(тарашкевіца)
Български
There are ligaments extending the length of the column at the front and the back, and in between the
Bosanski
vertebrae joining the spinous processes, the transverse processes and the vertebral laminae.
Brezhoneg
Català
Vertebrae
Чӑвашла
[edit]

Čeština
Main article: Vertebra
Cymraeg
Dansk The vertebrae in the human vertebral column are divided into different regions, which
Deutsch correspond to the curves of the spinal column. The articulating vertebrae are named
Eesti according to their region of the spine. Vertebrae in these regions are essentially alike,
Ελληνικά with minor variation. These regions are called the cervical spine, thoracic spine,
Español lumbar spine, sacrum and coccyx. There are seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic
Esperanto vertebrae and five lumbar vertebrae. The number of vertebrae in a region can vary
Euskara
but overall the number remains the same. The number of those in the cervical region
‫فارسی‬ however is only rarely changed.[4] The vertebrae of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar
Français
spines are independent bones, and generally quite similar. The vertebrae of the
sacrum and coccyx are usually fused and unable to move independently. Two special
Frysk
vertebrae are the atlas and axis, on which the head rests.
Gaeilge
Galego A typical
客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî vertebra
한국어 consists of two
Հայերեն parts: the
vertebral body
and the
Hrvatski
vertebral arch.
Ido
The vertebral
Interlingua arch is
Íslenska posterior,
Italiano meaning it faces
‫עברית‬ the back of a
Kapampangan person.
Together, these
enclose the Anatomy of a vertebra
Қазақша
vertebral foramen, which contains the spinal cord. Because the spinal cord ends in the
Kernowek
lumbar spine, and the sacrum and coccyx are fused, they do not contain a central
Kiswahili foramen. The vertebral arch is formed by a pair of pedicles and a pair of laminae, and
Numbering
Коми order of supports seven processes, four articular, two transverse, and one spinous, the latter
the vertebrae of the also being known as the neural spine. Two transverse processes and one spinous
Лакку
human
Latina spinal column process are posterior to (behind) the vertebral body. The spinous process comes out
the back, one transverse process comes out the left, and one on the right. The spinous processes of the
Latviešu
cervical
Lietuvių and lumbar regions can be felt through the skin.
Lingála
Above and below each vertebra are joints called facet joints. These restrict the range of movement
Magyar
possible, and are joined by a thin portion of the neural arch called the pars interarticularis . In between each
Македонски
pair of vertebrae are two small holes called intervertebral foramina. The spinal nerves leave the spinal cord
through these holes.
Bahasa Melayu
Individual vertebrae
Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ
̄ are named according to their region and position. From top to bottom, the vertebrae

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are:
Nederlands
日本語
Cervical spine: 7 vertebrae (C1–C7)
Norsk
Thoracic spine: 12 vertebrae (T1–T12)
Norsk nynorskspine: 5 vertebrae (L1–L5)
Lumbar
Sacrum: 5 (fused) vertebrae (S1–S5)
Occitan
Coccyx: 4 (3–5) (fused) vertebrae (Tailbone)
Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча

Shape
‫پنجابی‬ [edit]
Polski
The upper cervical spine has a curve, convex forward, that begins at the axis (second cervical vertebra) at
Português
the
Română of the odontoid process or dens, and ends at the middle of the second thoracic vertebra; it is the
apex
least
Runamarked
Simi of all the curves. This inward curve is known as a lordotic curve.
Русский
The thoracic curve, concave forward, begins at the middle of the second and
ends at the middle of the twelfth thoracic vertebra. Its most prominent point
Scots behind corresponds to the spinous process of the seventh thoracic vertebra.
Shqip This curve is known as a kyphotic curve.
Sicilianu
The lumbar curve is more marked in the female than in the male; it begins at
Simple English the middle of the last thoracic vertebra, and ends at the sacrovertebral angle. It
Slovenčina
is convex anteriorly, the convexity of the lower three vertebrae being much
greater than that of the upper two. This curve is described as a lordotic curve.
Slovenščina
Soomaaliga The sacral curve begins at the sacrovertebral articulation, and ends at the point
‫کوردی‬ of the coccyx; its concavity is directed downward and forward as a kyphotic
Српски / srpski curve.
Srpskohrvatski /
српскохрватски The thoracic and sacral kyphotic curves are termed primary curves, because
Basa Sunda they are present in the fetus. The cervical and lumbar curves are compensatory
Suomi or secondary, and are developed after birth. The cervical curve forms when the
Svenska infant is able to hold up its head (at three or four months) and to sit upright
Tagalog
(at nine months). The lumbar curve forms later from twelve to eighteen
months, when the child begins to walk.

ไทย
Surfaces [edit]

Тоҷикӣ
Anterior surface
Türkçe

thoracic spine X-ray of a When viewed from in front, the width of the bodies of the vertebrae is seen to
Українська
A ‫اردو‬
57 year-old male. increase from the second cervical to the first thoracic; there is then a slight
‫ ئۇيغۇرچە‬/ Uyghurche diminution in the next three vertebrae; below this there is again a gradual and
progressive
Tiếng Việt increase in width as low as the sacrovertebral angle. From this point there is a rapid diminution,
the apex of the coccyx.[5]
toVõro
Winaray
Posterior
‫יי ִדיש‬ surface
粵語
From behind, the vertebral column presents in the median line the spinous processes. In the cervical region
中文 the exception of the second and seventh vertebrae) these are short, horizontal and bifid. In the upper
(with
Edit links region they are directed obliquely downward; in the middle they are almost vertical, and
part of the thoracic
in the lower part they are nearly horizontal. In the lumbar region they are nearly horizontal. The spinous
processes are separated by considerable intervals in the lumbar region, by narrower intervals in the neck,
and are closely approximated in the middle of the thoracic region. Occasionally one of these processes
deviates a little from the median line — which can sometimes be indicative of a fracture or a displacement
of the spine. On either side of the spinous processes is the vertebral groove formed by the laminae in the
cervical and lumbar regions, where it is shallow, and by the laminae and transverse processes in the

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thoracic region, where it is deep and broad; these grooves lodge the deep muscles of the back. Lateral to
the spinous processes are the articular processes, and still more laterally the transverse processes. In the
thoracic region, the transverse processes stand backward, on a plane considerably behind that of the same
processes in the cervical and lumbar regions. In the cervical region, the transverse processes are placed in
front of the articular processes, lateral to the pedicles and between the intervertebral foramina. In the
thoracic region they are posterior to the pedicles, intervertebral foramina, and articular processes. In the
lumbar region they are in front of the articular processes, but behind the intervertebral foramina. [5]

Lateral surfaces

The sides of the vertebral column are separated from the posterior surface by the articular processes in the
cervical and thoracic regions, and by the transverse processes in the lumbar region. In the thoracic region,
the sides of the bodies of the vertebrae are marked in the back by the facets for articulation with the heads
of the ribs. More posteriorly are the intervertebral foramina, formed by the juxtaposition of the vertebral
notches, oval in shape, smallest in the cervical and upper part of the thoracic regions, and gradually
increasing in size to the last lumbar. They transmit the special spinal nerves and are situated between the
transverse processes in the cervical region, and in front of them in the thoracic and lumbar regions. [5]

Ligaments [edit]

There are different ligaments involved in the holding together of the vertebrae in the column, and in the
column's movement. The anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments extend the length of the vertebral
column along the front and back of the vertebral bodies. [6] The interspinous ligaments connect the
adjoining spinous processes of the vertebrae. [7] The supraspinous ligament extends the length of the spine
running along the back of the spinous processes, from the sacrum to the seventh cervical vertebra.[8] From
there it is continuous with the nuchal ligament.

Development [edit]

The striking segmented pattern of the spine is established during embryogenesis when somites are
rhythmically added to the posterior of the embryo. Somite formation begins around the third week when
the embryo begins gastrulation and continues until around 52 somites are formed. The somites are spheres,
formed from the paraxial mesoderm that lies at the sides of the neural tube and they contain the
precursors of spinal bone, the vertebrae ribs and some of the skull, as well as muscle, ligaments and skin.
Somitogenesis and the subsequent distribution of somites is controlled by a clock and wavefront model
acting in cells of the paraxial mesoderm. Soon after their formation, sclerotomes, which give rise to some of
the bone of the skull, the vertebrae and ribs, migrate, leaving the remainder of the somite now termed a
dermamyotome behind. This then splits to give the myotomes which will form the muscles and dermatomes
which will form the skin of the back. Sclerotomes become subdivided into an anterior and a posterior
compartment. This subdivision plays a key role in the definitive patterning of vertebrae that form when the
posterior part of one somite fuses to the anterior part of the consecutive somite during a process termed
resegmentation. Disruption of the somitogenesis process in humans results in diseases such as congenital
scoliosis. So far, the human homologues of three genes associated to the mouse segmentation clock,
(MESP2, DLL3 and LFNG), have been shown to be mutated in cases of congenital scoliosis, suggesting that
the mechanisms involved in vertebral segmentation are conserved across vertebrates. In humans the first
four somites are incorporated in the base of the occipital bone of the skull and the next 33 somites will form
the vertebrae, ribs, muscles, ligaments and skin.[9] The remaining posterior somites degenerate. During the
fourth week of embryogenesis, the sclerotomes shift their position to surround the spinal cord and the
notochord. This column of tissue has a segmented appearance, with alternating areas of dense and less
dense areas.

As the sclerotome develops, it condenses further eventually developing into the vertebral body.
Development of the appropriate shapes of the vertebral bodies is regulated by HOX genes.

The less dense tissue that separates the sclerotome segments develop into the intervertebral discs.

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The notochord disappears in the sclerotome (vertebral body) segments, but persists in the region of the
intervertebral discs as the nucleus pulposus. The nucleus pulposus and the fibers of the anulus fibrosus
make up the intervertebral disc.

The primary curves (thoracic and sacral curvatures) form during fetal development. The secondary curves
develop after birth. The cervical curvature forms as a result of lifting the head and the lumbar curvature
forms as a result of walking.

Function [edit]

Spinal cord [edit]

Main article: Spinal cord

The vertebral column surrounds the spinal cord which travels within the
spinal canal, formed from a central hole within each vertebra. The spinal
cord is part of the central nervous system that supplies nerves and receives
information from the peripheral nervous system within the body. The spinal
cord consists of grey and white matter and a central cavity, the central
canal. Adjacent to each vertebra emerge spinal nerves. The spinal nerves
provide sympathetic nervous supply to the body, with nerves emerging
forming the sympathetic trunk and the splanchnic nerves. The spinal cord nested in the
vertebral column.
The spinal canal follows the different curves of the column; it is large and triangular in those parts of the
column which enjoy the greatest freedom of movement, such as the cervical and lumbar regions; and is
small and rounded in the thoracic region, where motion is more limited.[citation needed ]

The spinal cord terminates in the conus medullaris and cauda equina.

Clinical significance [edit]

Disease [edit]

Spina bifida is a congenital disorder in which there is a defective closure of the vertebral arch. Sometimes
the spinal meninges and also the spinal cord can protrude through this, and this is called Spina bifida
cystica . Where the condition does not involve this protrusion it is known as Spina bifida occulta. Sometimes
all of the vertebral arches may remain incomplete.[10] Another, though rare, congenital disease is Klippel-
Feil syndrome which is the fusion of any two of the cervical vertebrae.

Spondylolisthesis is the forward displacement of a vertebra and retrolisthesis is a posterior displacement of

one vertebral body with respect to the adjacent vertebra to a degree less than a dislocation.

Spinal disc herniation, more commonly called a "slipped disc", is the result of a tear in the outer ring
(anulus fibrosus) of the intervertebral disc, which lets some of the soft gel-like material, the nucleus
pulposus, bulge out in a hernia.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal which can occur in any region of the spine though less
commonly in the thoracic region. The stenosis can constrict the spinal canal giving rise to a neurological
deficit.

Pain at the coccyx (tailbone) is known as coccydynia.[11]

Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes changes in its function, either temporary or
permanent.

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Curvature [edit]

Excessive or abnormal spinal curvature is classed as a spinal disease or dorsopathy and includes the
following abnormal curvatures:

Kyphosis is an exaggerated kyphotic (concave) curvature in the thoracic region, also called
hyperkyphosis. This produces the so-called "humpback" or "dowager's hump", a condition commonly
resulting from osteoporosis.
Lordosis as an exaggerated lordotic (convex) curvature of the lumbar region, is known as lumbar
hyperlordosis and also as "swayback". Temporary lordosis is common during pregnancy.
Scoliosis, lateral curvature, is the most common abnormal curvature, occurring in 0.5% of the
population. It is more common among females and may result from unequal growth of the two sides of
one or more vertebrae, so that they do not fuse properly. It can also be caused by pulmonary
atelectasis (partial or complete deflation of one or more lobes of the lungs) as observed in asthma or
pneumothorax.
Kyphoscoliosis, a combination of kyphosis and scoliosis.

Anatomical landmarks [edit]

Individual vertebrae of the human vertebral column can be felt and used
as surface anatomy, with reference points are taken from the middle of
the vertebral body. This provides anatomical landmarks that can be used
to guide procedures such as a lumbar puncture and also as vertical
reference points to describe the locations of other parts of human
anatomy, such as the positions of organs.

Other animals [edit]

Variations in vertebrae [edit]

The general structure of vertebrae in other animals is largely the same as

in humans. Individual vertebrae are composed of a centrum (body),
arches protruding from the top and bottom of the centrum, and various
processes projecting from the centrum and/or arches. An arch extending
from the top of the centrum is called a neural arch, while the haemal arch
or chevron is found underneath the centrum in the caudal (tail) vertebrae
of fish, most reptiles, some birds, some dinosaurs and some mammals
with long tails. The vertebral processes can either give the structure
rigidity, help them articulate with ribs, or serve as muscle attachment
points. Common types are transverse process, diapophyses,
parapophyses, and zygapophyses (both the cranial zygapophyses and the
caudal zygapophyses). The centrum of the vertebra can be classified Surface projections of organs of
based on the fusion of its elements. In temnospondyls, bones such as the the torso. The transpyloric line is
seen at L1
spinous process, the pleurocentrum and the intercentrum are separate
ossifications. Fused elements, however, classify a vertebra as having holospondyly.

A vertebra can also be described in terms of the shape of the ends of the centrum. Centra with flat ends
are acoelous , like those in mammals. These flat ends of the centra are especially good at supporting and
distributing compressive forces. Amphicoelous vertebra have centra with both ends concave. This shape is
common in fish, where most motion is limited. Amphicoelous centra often are integrated with a full
notochord. Procoelous vertebrae are anteriorly concave and posteriorly convex. They are found in frogs and
modern reptiles. Opisthocoelous vertebrae are the opposite, possessing anterior convexity and posterior
concavity. They are found in salamanders, and in some non-avian dinosaurs. Heterocoelous vertebrae have
saddle-shaped articular surfaces. This type of configuration is seen in turtles that retract their necks, and

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birds, because it permits extensive lateral and vertical flexion motion without stretching the nerve cord too
extensively or wringing it about its long axis.

In horses, the Arabian (breed) can have one less vertebrae and pair of ribs. This anomaly disappears in
foals that are the product of an Arabian and another breed of horse.[12]

Regional vertebrae [edit]

Vertebrae are defined by the regions of the vertebral column that they occur in, as in humans. Cervical
vertebrae are those in the neck area. With the exception of the two sloth genera ( Choloepus and Bradypus )
and the manatee genus, ( Trichechus),[13] all mammals have seven cervical vertebrae. [14] In other
vertebrates, the number of cervical vertebrae can range from a single vertebra in amphibians, to as many
as 25 in swans or 76 in the extinct plesiosaur Elasmosaurus. The dorsal vertebrae range from the bottom of
the neck to the top of the pelvis. Dorsal vertebrae attached to the ribs are called thoracic vertebrae, while
those without ribs are called lumbar vertebrae. The sacral vertebrae are those in the pelvic region, and
range from one in amphibians, to two in most birds and modern reptiles, or up to three to five in
mammals. When multiple sacral vertebrae are fused into a single structure, it is called the sacrum. The
synsacrum is a similar fused structure found in birds that is composed of the sacral, lumbar, and some of
the thoracic and caudal vertebra, as well as the pelvic girdle. Caudal vertebrae compose the tail, and the
final few can be fused into the pygostyle in birds, or into the coccygeal or tail bone in chimpanzees (and
humans).

Fish and amphibians [edit]

See also: Fish anatomy § Vertebrae

The vertebrae of lobe-finned fishes consist of three discrete bony elements.

The vertebral arch surrounds the spinal cord, and is of broadly similar form
to that found in most other vertebrates. Just beneath the arch lies a small
plate-like pleurocentrum, which protects the upper surface of the notochord,
and below that, a larger arch-shaped intercentrum to protect the lower
border. Both of these structures are embedded within a single cylindrical
mass of cartilage. A similar arrangement was found in the primitive
Labyrinthodonts, but in the evolutionary line that led to reptiles (and hence,
also to mammals and birds), the intercentrum became partially or wholly
replaced by an enlarged pleurocentrum, which in turn became the bony
vertebral body. [15] In most ray-finned fishes, including all teleosts, these two
A vertebra (diameter 5 mm) of structures are fused with, and embedded within, a solid piece of bone
a small ray-finned fish superficially resembling the vertebral body of mammals. In living
amphibians, there is simply a cylindrical piece of bone below the vertebral arch, with no trace of the
separate elements present in the early tetrapods.[15]

In cartilaginous fish, such as sharks, the vertebrae consist of two cartilaginous tubes. The upper tube is
formed from the vertebral arches, but also includes additional cartilaginous structures filling in the gaps
between the vertebrae, and so enclosing the spinal cord in an essentially continuous sheath. The lower tube
surrounds the notochord, and has a complex structure, often including multiple layers of calcification.[15]

Lampreys have vertebral arches, but nothing resembling the vertebral bodies found in all higher
vertebrates. Even the arches are discontinuous, consisting of separate pieces of arch-shaped cartilage
around the spinal cord in most parts of the body, changing to long strips of cartilage above and below in
the tail region. Hagfishes lack a true vertebral column, and are therefore not properly considered
vertebrates, but a few tiny neural arches are present in the tail.[15]

Other vertebrates [edit]

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The general structure of human

vertebrae is fairly typical of that
found in mammals, reptiles, and
birds. The shape of the vertebral
body does, however, vary somewhat
between different groups. In
mammals, such as humans, it
typically has flat upper and lower
surfaces, while in reptiles the anterior
surface commonly has a concave
socket into which the expanded
convex face of the next vertebral
body fits. Even these patterns are
only generalisations, however, and
there may be variation in form of the Vertebral anatomy of a human spine
vertebrae along the length of the spine even within a single species. Some unusual variations include the
saddle-shaped sockets between the cervical vertebrae of birds and the presence of a narrow hollow canal
running down the centre of the vertebral bodies of geckos and tuataras, containing a remnant of the
notochord. [15]

Reptiles often retain the primitive intercentra, which are present as small crescent-shaped bony elements
lying between the bodies of adjacent vertebrae; similar structures are often found in the caudal vertebrae
of mammals. In the tail, these are attached to chevron-shaped bones called haemal arches, which attach
below the base of the spine, and help to support the musculature. These latter bones are probably
homologous with the ventral ribs of fish. The number of vertebrae in the spines of reptiles is highly variable,
and may be several hundred in some species of snake.[15]

In birds, there is a variable number of cervical vertebrae, which often form the only truly flexible part of the
spine. The thoracic vertebrae are partially fused, providing a solid brace for the wings during flight. The
sacral vertebrae are fused with the lumbar vertebrae, and some thoracic and caudal vertebrae, to form a
single structure, the synsacrum, which is thus of greater relative length than the sacrum of mammals. In
living birds, the remaining caudal vertebrae are fused into a further bone, the pygostyle, for attachment of
the tail feathers. [15]

Aside from the tail, the number of vertebrae in mammals is generally fairly constant. There are almost
always seven cervical vertebrae (sloths and manatees are among the few exceptions), followed by around
twenty or so further vertebrae, divided between the thoracic and lumbar forms, depending on the number
of ribs. There are generally three to five vertebrae with the sacrum, and anything up to fifty caudal
vertebrae. [15]

Dinosaurs [edit]

The vertebral column in dinosaurs consists of the cervical (neck), dorsal (back), sacral (hips), and caudal
(tail) vertebrae. Saurischian dinosaur vertebrae sometimes possess features known as pleurocoels, which
are hollow depressions on the lateral portions of the vertebrae, perforated to create an entrance into the air
chambers within the vertebrae, which served to decrease the weight of these bones without sacrificing
strength. These pleurocoels were filled with air sacs, which would have further decreased weight. In
sauropod dinosaurs, the largest known land vertebrates, pleurocoels and air sacs may have reduced the
animal's weight by over a ton in some instances, a handy evolutionary adaption in animals that grew to
over 30 metres in length. In many hadrosaur and theropod dinosaurs, the caudal vertebrae were reinforced
by ossified tendons. The presence of three or more sacral vertebrae, in association with the hip bones, is
one of the defining characteristics of dinosaurs. The occipital condyle is a structure on the posterior part of
a dinosaur's skull which articulates with the first cervical vertebra.[16]

See also [edit]

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This article uses anatomical terminology; for an overview, see Anatomical

terminology. Anatomy portal
Low back pain
Neuromechanics of idiopathic scoliosis Wikimedia Commons has
Neutral spine media related to Vertebral
column.
References [edit]

1. ^ Liem, Karel F.; Warren Franklin Walker (2001). Functional anatomy of the
vertebrates: an evolutionary perspective . Harcourt College Publishers. Wikimedia Commons has
p. 277. ISBN 978-0-03-022369-3. media related to Vertebral
2. ^ David Krogh (2010), Biology: A Guide to the Natural World , Benjamin- column.
Cummings Publishing Company, p. 333, ISBN 978-0-321-61655-5
3. ^ Drake, Richard L.; Vogl, Wayne; Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell;
illustrations by Richard; Richardson, Paul (2005). Gray's anatomy for
students. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-
8089-2306-0.
4. ^ a b Gray, Henry (1977). Gray's Anatomy . New York: Crown Publishers,
Inc. p. 34.
5. ^ a b c Gray's Anatomy (1918)
6. ^ Nigel Palastanga; Roger W. Soames (2012). Churchill Livingstone, ed.
Anatomy and Human Movement: Structure and Function.
7. ^ "interspinal ligament" . Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
8. ^ Drake, Richard L.; Vogl, Wayne; Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell ;
illustrations by Richard; Richardson, Paul (2005). Gray's anatomy for
students (Pbk. ed.). Philadelphia: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. p. 45.
ISBN 978-0-443-06612-2.
9. ^ Somites, Spinal Ganglia, and Centra Archived July 15, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine.
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External links [edit]

Vertebral column basics

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Spinal Term Glossary
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Vertebral column - Wikipedia

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Categories: Bones of the vertebral column Vertebrate anatomy Skeletal system Bones of the thorax
Irregular bones Human back

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