ANAT20006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Intervertebral Foramina, Lumbar Vertebrae, Vertebra
12 Jun 2018
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LECTURE 13
VERTEBRAL COLUMN & BACK
•(1) human skeleton has 2 components.
•Vertebral column: axial skeleton, regionally
distinct vertebrae, intervertebral joints (&
discs), vertebral canal and intervertebral
foramen.
•Function: support / supporting axis,
movement, protection of the nervous system
VERTEBRAL COLUMN
•(2) vertebral column is regionally distinct.
•We have 7 cervical vertebra the last of which
articulates with the first of the 12 thoracic
vertebra, the last of which articulates with
the first of the 5 lumbar vertebra, then
coccygeal vertebra. Can be 2, 3 or 4 of these.
•Vertebral column forms central part of
central axis. Gives range of motion and
protects NS.
•(3) from a lateral perspective we can see that
it is quite curvy. It begins with a single curve,
the primary curve, or fetal curve. It is
anteriorly concave. After a few months of
NS development, the neck muscles develop
and the baby will begin extending their neck,
developing the secondary curve. A few
months after this around 10-12 months of age, the
musculature around the pelvis strengthens and the child
can creep up on furniture and eventually get to 2 legs.
This gives a third curve, giving us upright posture.
•(4) Abnormal curvatures include lordosis, kyphosis and
scoliosis.
•Lord = fat = sticks tummy out. Kyphosis = sticks upper
back out (Liam?). Scoliosis = sideways.
LUMBAR VERTEBRA STRUCTURE
•(5) Vertebrae are irregular bones.
We are not interested in
individual differences between
cervical thoracic etc vertebra,
just wants general rules of what
vertebra looks like. Anteriorly,
every vertebra has a vertebral
body. The central region is
rough and the outer region is
smooth.
•The vertebral arch comes off
the vertebral body, which has
Lecture 13 - Monday 21 August 2017
ANAT20006 - HUMAN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
several elements: 1. Transverse processes, 2. Spinous (posteriorly) and 3. Articular process.
•From the lateral perspective, there is a vertebral arch coming off it. This forms the vertebral
foramen, which is where the spinal cord will run. Once they stack up, the foramen becomes a
canal.
•(6) pedicle + lamina form internal protective aspect. The spinous and transverse processes are
muscle levers; where the muscles attach. How we get force to move our back. The articular
processes, there are 4, which form a second type of joint (facet joints).
VERTEBRAE ARE REGIONALLY DISTINCT
•(7) vertebra are regionally distinct. Cervical vertebra have funny holes, thoracic vertebra have ribs
articulating with them, the lumbar vertebra are typical. They all have a body, a spinous, transverse
and superior and inferior articular processes. They also differ in size; cervical vertebra are small.
Cervical vertebra only take weight of head so they
don’t need to be big. Lumbar vertebra take weight
of whole body so they
tend to be largest. The 5
independent vertebra for
the sacrum (sacral
vertebras) don’t
take any weight.
Once these are
stacked, the spinal
cord runs through
the foramen.
Lecture 13 - Monday 21 August 2017
ANAT20006 - HUMAN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
Document Summary
Vertebral column & back: (1) human skeleton has 2 components, vertebral column: axial skeleton, regionally distinct vertebrae, intervertebral joints (& discs), vertebral canal and intervertebral foramen, function: support / supporting axis, movement, protection of the nervous system. Can be 2, 3 or 4 of these: vertebral column forms central part of central axis. Gives range of motion and protects ns: (3) from a lateral perspective we can see that it is quite curvy. It begins with a single curve, the primary curve, or fetal curve. Ns development, the neck muscles develop and the baby will begin extending their neck, developing the secondary curve. A few months after this around 10-12 months of age, the musculature around the pelvis strengthens and the child can creep up on furniture and eventually get to 2 legs. This gives a third curve, giving us upright posture: (4) abnormal curvatures include lordosis, kyphosis and scoliosis, lord = fat = sticks tummy out.
