86 



ANATOMY. 



THE BONES OF THE TRUNK. 

 THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN. 



What Cnaracteristics are Common to the Vertebrae ? Each vertebra 

 consists of a body and an arch, the latter being formed by 2 pedicles and 2 

 laminae, which support 7 processes. 



Body* is thick and spongy, convex in front 7 from side to side, concave verti- 

 cally, and on the upper and lower surfaces, which are surrounded by a 

 bony rim. Anteriorly are small foramina for nutrient vessels, posteriorly 

 a large foramen for the exit of the ven&e basis vertebrarum. 

 Pedicles, project backwards from the body, inclining outwards. They are 

 notched above and below, thus forming, with the adjacent notches, the 

 Intervertebral Foramina for the entrance of vessels and the exit of the 

 spinal nerves. 



Lamina? are 2 broad plates, meeting in the spinous process behind, and 

 rough on their upper and lower borders for the attachment of the liga- 

 mentum subflava. 



Transverse Processes,^ one 

 FIG. 15. on each side, projecting 



outwards. 



Articular Processes, two on 

 each side, superior 3 and 

 inferior, 5 project from the 

 junction of the laminae 

 and pedicles, and articu- 

 lating above and below 

 with the articular pro- 

 cesses of the adjacent 

 vertebrae. Their superior 

 facets look upwards in 

 the cervical region, out- 

 wards in the dorsal, and 

 inwards in the lumbar. 

 Spinous Process?- projects 

 backwards from the junc- 

 tion of the laminae with 

 each other, sometimes 

 very obliquely. 



Spinal Foramen? is the space enclosed by the body, pedicles, and laminae ; 

 and which, when the vertebrae are articulated, forms part of the spinal 

 canal. 



