

COSTOVERTEBRAL ARTICULATIONS 



301 



The Articular Capsule (capsula articularis; capsular ligament] . The articular cap- 

 sule is a thin membrane attached to the circumferences of the articular surfaces, 

 and lined by a synovial membrane. 



Synovial cavity 



Anterior costotransverse 

 ligament divided 



Ligament of the neck 



Ligament of the 

 tubercle 



Articular capsule 



FIG. 313. Costotransverse articulation. Seen from above. 



The Anterior Costotransverse Ligament (liga- 

 mentum costotransversarium anterius; anterior 

 superior ligament}. The anterior costotrans- 

 verse ligament is attached below to the sharp 

 crest on the upper border of the neck of the 

 rib, and passes obliquely upward and lateral- 

 ward to the lower border of the transverse 

 process immediately above. It is in relation, 

 in front, with the intercostal vessels and 

 nerves; its medial border is thickened and 

 free, and bounds an aperture which transmits 

 the posterior branches of the intercostal vessels 

 and nerves; its lateral border is continuous 

 with a thin aponeurosis, which covers the 

 Intercostalis externus. 



The first rib has no anterior costotransverse 

 ligament. A band of fibers, the lumbocostal 

 ligament, in series with the anterior costotrans- 

 verse ligaments, connects the neck of the 

 twelfth rib to the base of the transverse pro- 

 cess of the first lumbar vertebra; it is merely 

 a thickened portion of the posterior layer of 

 the lumbodorsal fascia. 



The Posterior Costotransverse Ligament (liga- 

 mentum costotransversarium posterius). The 

 posterior costotransverse ligament is a feeble 

 band which is attached below to the neck of 

 the rib and passes upward and medialward to the base of the transverse process 

 and lateral border of the inferior articular process of the vertebra above. 



FIG. 314. Section of the costotransverse 

 joints from the third to the ninth inclusive. 

 Contrast the concave facets on the upper with 

 the flattened facets on the lower transverse 

 processes. 



