VERTEBRAL COLUMN 



49 



ventral to the ridge, and form a canal leading into the substance of 

 the bone. 



The cephalic and caudal surfaces or ends of the body are trans- 

 versely oblong. They are smooth, and are firmly united with the ends 

 of the adjoining bodies by means of an intervening plate of fibro-car- 

 tilage. In young bones this articulation is usually stronger than the 



FIG. 19. 



Neural Spine. 



Lamina. 



i/\.\ 



Cephalic Articular 

 Siirface. 



*W '/ Knirnl \\ " irAHlL. 

 IKA M ^ 7 V4 il. i)- y >llliK 



Transverse Process. ' 



Facet for Tubercle 

 of Kib. 



Body. 

 A THORACIC VERTEBRA, ANTERIOR OR CEPHALIC ASPECT. 



union between the epiphyses and the body. It is common, therefore, 

 in disarticulated skeletons, to find the body of a vertebra entirely 

 deprived of its epiphyses, or with one or both epiphyses of an 

 adjoining vertebra attached to it in addition to its own. When the 

 epiphysis is lost the end of the body is irregular and roughened 

 (Fig. 20). 



The bodies have no true lateral surfaces, since the sides are con- 

 tinuous with the ventral surface or occupied by the roots of the trans- 

 verse processes and the pedicles. A lateral border where the dorsal 

 and ventral surfaces join appears cephalic to these projections, but 

 more especially caudal to them. This border assists in the formation 

 of the intervertebral notches, and is transversely grooved to increase 

 the size of the intervertebral foramina. 



4 



