THE SPINE. 91 



ward and outward. They present anteriorly a shallow, 

 concave, articular surface for articulation with the 

 tubercle of the rib. The pedicles are laterally some- 

 what flattened and project directly backward, encroach- 

 ing upon the spinal foramen, making the dorsal portion 

 of the spinal canal the least capacious. The upper 

 dorsal vertebrae resemble the lower cervical, the lower 

 dorsal, the lumbar. The first, tenth, eleventh, and 

 twelfth have an entire facet at the side of the body ; the 

 ninth, a semi-facet above ; the rest have a semi-facet 

 above and below. The transverse processes of the 

 eleventh and twelfth have no articular surface. 



Sapir. Artie- Prte, 



FIG. 41. A LUMBAR VERTEBRA. 



The lumbar vertebrae, five in number, are the largest 

 vertebrae of the spinal column. The body is broad, 

 slightly concave above and below, and presents strongly- 

 curved rims. The pedicles are thick and of great 

 strength. The superior articular surfaces look inward 

 and slightly backward, their plane being nearly vertical. 

 The inferior articular surfaces are directed outward and 

 slightly forward. The laminae are heavy plates of bone, 

 which form a blunt, quadrilateral, spinous process, which 

 projects horizontally backward. The transverse proc- 

 esses, directed backward and outward, are thin, blade- 

 like, and light, in proportion to the rest of the bone. 



