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A typical vertebra has a body (vertebral body), also known as the centrumwhich consists of a large anterior middle portion, and a posterior vertebral arch, [2] also called a neural arch. [3] The body is composed of cancellous bone , which is the spongy type of osseous tissue , whose microanatomy has been specifically studied within the pedicle ...
The number of vertebrae in a region can vary but overall the number remains the same. In a human spinal column, there are normally 33 vertebrae. [3] The upper 24 pre-sacral vertebrae are articulating 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 spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal cord is hollow and contains a structure called the central canal, which contains cerebrospinal fluid.
In human anatomy, the five vertebrae are between the rib cage and the pelvis.They are the largest segments of the vertebral column and are characterized by the absence of the foramen transversarium within the transverse process (since it is only found in the cervical region) and by the absence of facets on the sides of the body (as found only in the thoracic region).
Vertebral compartment contains the cervical vertebrae with cartilaginous discs between each vertebral body. The alignment of the vertebrae defines the shape of the human neck. [ 5 ] As the vertebrae bound the spinal canal, the cervical portion of the spinal cord is also found within the neck.
The vertebral canal is enclosed anteriorly by the vertebral bodies, intervertebral discs, and the posterior longitudinal ligament; it is enclosed posteriorly by the vertebral laminae and the ligamenta flava; laterally, it is incompletely enclosed by the pedicles with the interval between two adjacent pedicles on either side creating an intervertebral foramen (allowing the passage of the spinal ...
The vertebral column typically continues beyond the anus to form an elongated tail. [15] [16] [17] Branchial arches bearing gills in a pike. The ancestral vertebrates, and most extant species, are aquatic and carry out gas exchange in their gills. The gills are finely-branched structures which bring the blood close to the water.
In humans, cervical vertebrae are the smallest of the true vertebrae and can be readily distinguished from those of the thoracic or lumbar regions by the presence of a foramen (hole) in each transverse process, through which the vertebral artery, vertebral veins, and inferior cervical ganglion pass. The remainder of this article focuses upon ...