OF VERTEBRAL COLUMN 



195 



tho interlaiiiiiiav space, enters into the formation of two capsular ligaments; they 

 do so to a greater extent in the tlioracic and luml)ar regions than in the cervical, 

 where the articular processes are placed wider apart. When seen from the front 

 after removing the bodies of the vertebrae, they are concave from side to side, but 

 convex from above downwards; they make a more decided transverse curve than 

 the arches l)etween which they are placed. This concavity is more marked in the 

 thoracic, and still more in the lumbar region than in the cervical; in the lumbar 

 region the ligamenta suVjflava extend a short distance between the roots of the 

 spinous pi'ocess, blending with the interspinous ligament, and making a median 

 sulcus when seen from the front; there is, however, no separation betw'een the two 

 parts. In the cervical region, where the sjiines are bifid, there is a median fissure 



Fig. 



203. — LiCtAmenta Subflava in the Lumbae Eegion, seen from withix the 



Spinal Canal. 



Portion of ligamen- 

 tum subflavum re- 

 moved to show the 

 articular cavity 



in the yellow tissue which is filled up by filjro-areolar tissue. The ligaments are 

 thickest and strongest in the lumljar region; narrow but strong in the thoracic; 

 thinner, broader, and more membranous in the cer^'ical region. 



{(1) The Ligaments connecting the Spinous Processes with one another 

 Supraspinous ligament, interspinous ligaments, and the ligamentum nucha?. 



The supraspinous ligament (fig. 205) extends, without interruption, as a 

 well-marked band of longitudinal fibres along the tips of the S})ines of the vertebrae 

 from that of the seventh cervical downwards till it lilends witli tlie fibrous tissue 

 on the Ijack of the coccyx. It covers in the lower end of the spinal canal, and 

 adds to the security of the sacro-coccygeal articulation. 



Its more superficial fibres are much longer than the deep. The deeper fibres 

 pass over adjacent spines only, while the superficial overlie several. It is con- 

 nected laterally with the aponeurotic structures of the back; indeed, in the 

 lumbar region, where it is well marked, it appears to result from the interweaving 

 of the tendinous fibres of the several muscles which are attached to the tips of 

 the spinous processes. 



