Anatomy of the Spine:
The spine that supports the bodys upper weight provides posture that allows movement and flexibility and protects the spinal cord. It stretches down the midline from the trunk to the base of the skull to the coccyx. Known as the vertebral column, the spinal column is a combination of 26 bones in adults out of which 24 separate certebrae is interspaced with cartilage except for the sacrum and coccyx. During growth in adolescence, Spine consists of 33 bones as fice bones of sacrum and four bones of coccyx do not fuse together until adolescence. The vertebrae are termed according to their first letter of their anatomical region. i.e Cervical, thoracic or lumbar and they are given numbers to indicate their position. For example,…show more content… • a hollow space that contains the spinal cord and meninges, lies the transverse processes and spinous process which are between the body.
Intervertebral discs are a thin regions of cartilage which lies between the vertebrae of spine.Intervertebral discs are comprised of an outer layer known as the annulus fibrosus and a soft, pulpy region known as the nucleus pulposus in the middle.
• The annulus fibrosus which is comprised of a stout fibrocartilage, binds the vertebrae together and is flexible enough to allow for movements.
• The inner nucleus pulposus acts as a shock absorber to support the body’s weight and prevent the vertebrae from painfully crashing into each other while under strain.To provide shock absorption to the bodys weight, inner nucleus pulposus prevents the vertebrae from crashing into each other during strain.
The protection of spinal cord is facilitated by the alignment of the vertebrae which forms a hollow, bony tube preventing it from damage and infection. These small spaces known as intervertebral canal allows spinal nerves to pass through the spinal cord and extend to other parths of the