ARTICULATIONS OF THE VERTEBR2E. 



123 



upper than at the lower part of the spine. In the neck it extends quite 

 across the bodies, but in the back and loins it is broader opposite the inter- 



Fig. 109. VlEW OP A PART OP THE 

 VERTEBRAL COLUMN, INCLUDING THE 

 5m, 6iH, TTH, STH, AND QTH 

 DORSAL VERTEBRAE, WITH A PART 



OP THB 6TH, ?TH, AND 8lH RlBS, 

 FROM THE RIGHT SIDE AND FRONT. ^ 



The 5th and 9th ribs have been 

 removed so as to show the articular 

 surfaces of the vertebrae corresponding 

 to them ; 1 to 2, the anterior common 

 ligament of the bodies of the vertebrae ; 

 at x x , a portion of the ligament is 

 removed so as to expose the inter- 

 vertebral plate between the 8th and 

 9th vertebrae, in which the diagonal 

 fibres of the external ligamentous 

 plates are represented. (The further 

 description of this figure will be found 

 at p. 129.) 



vertebral cartilages than at the 

 middle bodies, so that its mar- 

 gins present a series of points 

 or dentations with intervening 

 concave spaces. It adheres firmly 

 to the fibro-cartilages and to the 

 contiguous margins of the bodies 

 of the vertebrae, but it is sepa- 

 rated from the middle of the 



bodies by the transverse parts of the large venous plexus, which is in con- 

 tact with the bones. Between the ligament and the prolongation of the dura 

 mater which lines the canal, some loose connective tissue is interposed. 



Fig. 110. 



Fig. 110. THE BODIES OP THREE LUMBAR VERTEBRA, SEEN FROM 



BEHIND, WITH THE POSTERIOR COMMON LlGAMENT. ^ 



The arches have been removed by cutting through the pedicles. 

 The contraction of the posterior common ligament opposite the 

 middle of each body, and its greater width and attachments opposite 

 the intervertebral discs, are represented. 



The joints of the articulating processes present each a 

 synovial cavity surrounded by an irregular fibrous capsule. 

 The fibrous bands of these capsules are longer and looser 

 in the cervical than in the dorsal and lumbar regions. 



The liyamenta subflava are ligaments consisting of 

 yellow elastic tissue, which connect the laminae of the 

 vertebrae. Their fibres are nearly vertical, and are at- 

 tached superiorly to the anterior surface of the lamina, a little above the 

 inferior margin, and inferiorly to the upper margin and part of the posterior 

 surface of the lamina beneath. They are most distinctly seen when the 

 arches are detached from the bodies of the vertebrae, and they are viewed 

 from the front. Posteriorly they appear short, or in the dorsal region are 

 concealed, being overlaid by the prominent inferior margins of the laminae 



