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Information about Vertebral Body

Bone: Body of vertebra
A typical thoracic vertebra, viewed from above. (Body visible at top center.)
A cervical vertebra. (Body visible at top center.)
Latincorpus vertebrae
subject #20 96
Dorlands/Elsevier c_56/12260904
The body is the largest part of a vertebra, and is more or less cylindrical in shape.

Its upper and lower surfaces are flattened and rough, and give attachment to the intervertebral fibrocartilages, and each presents a rim around its circumference.

In front, the body is convex from side to side and concave from above downward.

Behind, it is flat from above downward and slightly concave from side to side.

Its anterior surface presents a few small apertures, for the passage of nutrient vessels.

On the posterior surface is a single large, irregular aperture, or occasionally more than one, for the exit of the basi-vertebral veins from the body of the vertebra.

Additional images


Cervical vertebra


External links

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.


Spine [ edit]
general structures: body of vertebra, vertebral arch (pedicle, lamina, vertebral notch), foramina (vertebral, intervertebral), processes (transverse, articular, spinous) cervical vertebrae: C1 (anterior arch, posterior arch, lateral mass), C2 (dens), C7, posterior tubercle, foramen transversarium thoracic vertebrae: costal facets (superior, inferior, transverse) lumbar vertebrae: accessory process, mammillary process sacrum/coccyx: pelvic surface (anterior sacral foramina, dorsal surface (posterior sacral foramina, median sacral crest, medial sacral crest, lateral sacral crest), lateral surface, base, sacral hiatus
The thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. They are intermediate in size between those of the cervical and lumbar regions; they increase in size as one proceeds down the spine, the upper
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In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are those vertebrae immediately behind (caudal to) the skull.

Variation among species

In some species, some parts of the skull may be composed of vertebra-like elements, e.g.
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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The Vertebral Column (singular: vertebra) are the individual irregular bones that make up the spinal column (aka ischis) — a flexuous and flexible column.
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Intervertebral discs (or intervertebral fibrocartilage) lie between adjacent vertebrae in the spine. Each disc forms a cartilaginous joint to allow slight movement of the vertebrae, and acts as a ligament to hold the vertebrae together.
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eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996 by Scott Plantz and Richard Lavely, two medical doctors. It was sold to WebMD in January 2006.
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The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind in the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
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Public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative works such as writing, art, music, and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a particular legal jurisdiction.
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Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened) is an English-language human anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on the subject.
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vertebral column (backbone or spine) is a column of 34 vertebrae, the sacrum, intervertebral discs, and the coccyx situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by spinal discs. It houses the spinal cord in its spinal canal.
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The vertebral arch (or neural arch) is the posterior part of a vertebra.

It consists of a pair of pedicles and a pair of laminae, and supports seven processes:
  • four articular processes
  • two transverse processes
  • one spinous process


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The pedicles (from Latin pediculus, "small foot") are two short, thick processes, which project backward, one on either side, from the upper part of the body, at the junction of its posterior and lateral surfaces.
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The laminæ are two broad plates directed backward and medially from the pedicles.

They fuse in the middle line posteriorly, and so complete the posterior boundary of the vertebral foramen.
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Spine [ edit]
general structures: body of vertebra, vertebral arch (pedicle, lamina, vertebral notch), foramina (vertebral, intervertebral), processes (transverse, articular, spinous) cervical vertebrae:
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In a typical vertebra, the vertebral foramen is the foramen formed by the anterior segment (the body), and the posterior part, the vertebral arch.

The vertebral foramen begins at cervical vertebrae #1 (atlas) and continues inferior to lumbar vertebrae #5.
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intervertebral foramina (singular: foramen; also called neural foramina). The foramen allows for the passage of the spinal nerve root, dorsal root ganglion, the spinal artery of the segmental artery, communicating veins between the internal and external plexuses,
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The transverse processes of a vertebra, two in number, project one at either side from the point where the lamina joins the pedicle, between the superior and inferior articular processes. They serve for the attachment of muscles and ligaments.
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The articular processes (zygapophyses) of a vertebra, two superior and two inferior, spring from the junctions of the pedicles and laminæ.
  • The superior processes project upward from a lower vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less backward.

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The spinous process of a vertebra is directed backward and downward from the junction of the laminae (in humans), and serves for the attachment of muscles and ligaments. In animals without an erect stance, the process points upward and may slant forward or backward.
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In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are those vertebrae immediately behind (caudal to) the skull.

Variation among species

In some species, some parts of the skull may be composed of vertebra-like elements, e.g.
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In anatomy, the atlas (C1) is the topmost (first) cervical vertebra of the spine.

It is named for the Atlas of mythology, because it supports the globe of the head.
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The anterior arch of the atlas forms about one-fifth of the ring of the atlas: its anterior surface is convex, and presents at its center the anterior tubercle for the attachment of the Longus colli muscles; posteriorly it is concave, and marked by a smooth, oval or circular facet
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In a cervical vertebra, the posterior arch forms about two-fifths of the circumference of the ring: it ends behind in the posterior tubercle, which is the rudiment of a spinous process and gives origin to the Recti capitis posteriores minores.
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The lateral masses are the most bulky and solid parts of the atlas, in order to support the weight of the head.

Each carries two articular facets, a superior and an inferior.
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axis (from Latin axis, "axle") or epistropheus.

It forms the pivot upon which the first cervical vertebra (the atlas), which carries the head, rotates.
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The dens or odontoid process or odontoid peg of the axis exhibits a slight constriction or neck, where it joins the body.

On its anterior surface is an oval or nearly circular facet for articulation with that on the anterior arch of the atlas.
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Vertebra prominens is the proper name for the seventh cervical vertebra. The most distinctive characteristic of this vertebra is the existence of a long and prominent spinous process which is papable from the skin surface, hence the name.
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posterior tubercle, which is the rudiment of a spinous process and gives origin to the Recti capitis posteriores minores.

The diminutive size of this process prevents any interference with the movements between the atlas and the skull.
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The foramen transversarium pierces the transverse processes of the seven cervical vertebrae. It gives passage to the vertebral artery and vein as wells as a plexus of sympathetic nerves in each of the vertebræ except the seventh, which lacks the artery.
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