University:
Western Sydney University
Course:
MEDI 2003 | Clinical Sciences 2
Academic year:

2024
Views:

372

Pages:

2
Author:

Mariam A. A.

Anatomy of the vertebrae Spinal cord basics • The spinal cord is continuous above the medulla oblongata and extends from the first cervical (upper boarder of the atlas) to the lower boarder of the first lumbar vertebrae • Nerves convey the impulses from the brain to various tissues and organs that descend through the spinal cord • At the appropriate level they leave the cord between adjacent vertebrae and pass to the structure that they supply • Sensory nerves from organs and tissues enter pass upwards in the spinal cord to the nerves • Some activities of the spinal cord are independent of the brain and are controlled at the level of the spinal cord by spinal reflexes Typical Vertebra • It consists of a vertebral body, vertebral arch ad seven process - Vertebral body: gives strength to the vertebral column and supports body weight ✓ The size of the vertebral bodies increases as the column descends ✓ Most superior and inferior surfaces of the vertebral body are covered with discs of hyaline cartilage, which are remnants of the cartilaginous model from which the bone develops ✓ Anular epiphyses and their cartilaginous remnants provide some protection to the vertebral bodies and remit some diffusion between the IV disc and the capillaries in the vertebral body. ✓ The superior and inferior epiphyses usually unit with eh centrum the primary ossification centre for the central mass of the vertebral body - vertebral arch: is posterior to the vertebral body and consists of two (right and left) pedicles and laminae ✓ The vertebral arch and the posterior surface of the vertebral body form the walls of the vertebral foramen ✓ The succession of vertebral foramina in the articulated vertebral column forms the vertebral canal ✓ The canal contains the spinal cord and the roots of the spinal nerves, along with the membranes (meninges), fat, and vessels that surround and serve them - vertebral notches: indentations observed in lateral views of the vertebrae superior and inferior to each pedicle between the superior and inferior articular processes posteriorly and the corresponding projections of the body anteriorly ✓ The superior and inferior vertebral notches of adjacent vertebrae and the IV discs connecting them form intervertebral foramina through which the spinal nerves emerge from the vertebral column ✓ Also, the spinal (posterior root) ganglia are located in these foramina