Anatomy and Cell Biology 3319 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Posterior Longitudinal Ligament, Anterior Longitudinal Ligament, Ligamenta Flava
15 Dec 2017
School
Department
Professor
Document Summary
Surrounds/protects spinal cod and provides attachment points for the ribs and neck/back muscles. In fetus/infant, the vertebral column has 33 separate bones (vertebrae: inferiorly, nine of them fuse to form two composite bones, the sacrum and the tiny coccyx (tailbone, remaining 24 bones continue as individual vertebrae separated by intervertebral discs. Articulates with the hip bones of the pelvis: most inferior part of the vertebral column is the coccyx. Vertebrae become progressively larger from cervical to lumbar region. Majority mammals (all humans) have 7 cervical vertebrae: variations in vertebrae in other regions occur in ~5% people. From lateral view, four curvatures give the vertebral column an s shape: the cervical and lumbar curvatures are concave posteriorly. These are the secondary curvatures, develop during the first 2 years of childhood as the intervertebral discs are reshaped. Cervical curvature at 3 months, lumbar curvature at 1 year: the thoracic and sacral curvatures are convex posteriorly.
