SYNDESMOLOGY 





capsules lined by synovial membranes; while the laminae, spinous and transverse 

 processes are connected by the following ligaments : 



The Ligamenta Flava. 

 The Supraspinal. 



The Ligamentum Nuchae. 

 The Interspinal. 

 The Intertransverse. 



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Pedicle (cut) 



The Articular Capsules (capsulce articulares; capsular ligaments} (Fig. 

 The articular capsules are thin and loose, and are attached to the margins of the 

 articular processes of adjacent vertebrae. They are longer and looser in the cervical 

 than in the thoracic and lumbar regions. 



The Ligamenta Flava (ligamenta subflava, Fig. 303). The ligamenta flava connect 

 the laminae of adjacent vertebrae, from the axis to the first segment of the sacrum. 

 They are best seen from the interior of the vertebral canal ; when looked at from the 

 outer surface they appear short, being overlapped by the laminae. Each ligament 

 consists of two lateral portions which commence one on either side of the roots 

 of the articular processes, and extend backward to the point where the laminae 

 meet to form the spinous process ; the posterior margins of the two portions are in 

 contact and to a certain extent united, slight intervals being left for the passage 

 of small vessels. Each consists of yellow elastic tissue, the fibers of which, almost 



perpendicular in direction, are at- 

 tached to the anterior surface of 

 the lamina above, some distance 

 from its inferior margin, and to the 

 posterior surface and upper margin 

 of the lamina below. In the cervical 

 region the ligaments are thin, but 

 broad and long; they are thicker in 

 the thoracic region, and thickest in 

 the lumbar region. Their marked 

 elasticity serves to preserve the up- 

 right posture, and to assist the 

 vertebral column in resuming it 

 after flexion. 



The Supraspinal Ligament (liga- 

 mentum supraspinale; supraspinous 

 ligament) (Fig. 301). The supra- 

 spinal ligament is a strong fibrous 

 cord, which connects together the 

 apices of the spinous processes from 



the seventh cervical vertebra to the sacrum ; at the points of attachment to the 

 tips of the spinous processes fibrocartilage is developed in the ligament. It is 

 thicker and broader in the lumbar than in the thoracic region, and intimately 

 blended, in both situations, with the neighboring fascia. The most superficial 

 fibers of this ligament extend over three or four vertebrae; those more deeply 

 seated pass between two or three vertebrae ; while the deepest connect the spinous 

 processes of neighboring vertebrae. Between the spinous processes it is continuous 

 with the interspinal ligaments. It is continued upward to the external occipital 

 protuberance and median nuchal line, as the ligamentum nucha 1 . 



The Ligamentum Nuchae. The ligamentum nuchse is a fibrous membrane, which, 

 in the neck, represents the Supraspinal ligaments of the lower vertebrae. It extends 

 from the external occipital protuberance and median nuchal line to the spinous 

 process of the seventh cervical vertebra. From its anterior border a fibrous lamina 

 is given off, which is attached to the posterior tubercle of the atlas, and to the 

 spinous processes of the cervical vertebras, and forms a septum between the muscles 



Lamina 



FIG. 303. Vertebral arches of three thoracic vertebrae 

 viewed from the front. 



