Vertebra prominens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bone: Vertebra prominens | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Seventh cervical vertebra | ||
| Gray's | subject #21 101 | |
The most distinctive characteristic of the seventh cervical vertebra is the existence of a long and prominent spinous process, hence the name vertebra prominens.
This process is thick, nearly horizontal in direction, not bifurcated, but terminating in a tubercle to which the lower end of the ligamentum nuchae is attached.
The transverse processes are of considerable size, their posterior roots are large and prominent, while the anterior are small and faintly marked; the upper surface of each has usually a shallow sulcus for the eighth spinal nerve, and its extremity seldom presents more than a trace of bifurcation.
The foramen transversarium may be as large as that in the other cervical vertebrae, but is generally smaller on one or both sides; occasionally it is double, sometimes it is absent.
On the left side it occasionally gives passage to the vertebral artery; more frequently the vertebral vein traverses it on both sides; but the usual arrangement is for both artery and vein to pass in front of the transverse process, and not through the foramen.
Sometimes the anterior root of the transverse process attains a large size and exists as a separate bone, which is known as a cervical rib.
[edit] External links
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
| Spine edit |
|
general structures: body of vertebra, vertebral arch (pedicle, lamina, vertebral notch), foramina (vertebral, intervertebral), processes (transverse, articular, spinous) cervical vertebrae: C1 (anterior arch, posterior arch, lateral mass), C2 (dens), C7, posterior tubercle, foramen transversarium thoracic vertebrae: costal facets (superior, inferior, transverse) lumbar vertebrae: accessory process, mammillary process sacrum/coccyx: pelvic surface (anterior sacral foramina, dorsal surface (posterior sacral foramina, median sacral crest, medial sacral crest, lateral sacral crest), lateral surface, base, sacral hiatus |
