Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The number of vertebrae in a region can vary but overall the number remains the same. In a human spinal column, there are normally 33 vertebrae. [3] The upper 24 pre-sacral vertebrae are articulating and separated from each other by intervertebral discs, and the lower nine are fused in adults, five in the sacrum and four in the coccyx, or tailbone.
Functions of vertebrae include: Support of the vertebrae function in the skeletomuscular system by forming the vertebral column to support the body; Protection. Vertebrae contain a vertebral foramen for the passage of the spinal canal and its enclosed spinal cord and covering meninges. They also afford sturdy protection for the spinal cord.
A fully grown adult features 26 bones in the spine, whereas a child can have 33. Cervical vertebrae (7 bones) Thoracic vertebrae (12 bones) Lumbar vertebrae (5 bones) Sacrum (5 bones at birth, fused into one after adolescence) Coccyx (set of 4 bones at birth)
The axial skeleton (80 bones) is formed by the vertebral column (32–34 bones; the number of the vertebrae differs from human to human as the lower 2 parts, sacral and coccygeal bone may vary in length), a part of the rib cage (12 pairs of ribs and the sternum), and the skull (22 bones and 7 associated bones).
In humans, cervical vertebrae are the smallest of the true vertebrae and can be readily distinguished from those of the thoracic or lumbar regions by the presence of a foramen (hole) in each transverse process, through which the vertebral artery, vertebral veins, and inferior cervical ganglion pass. The remainder of this article focuses upon ...
The number of vertebrae in a region can vary but overall the number remains the same. In a human vertebral column, there are normally 33 vertebrae. [3] The upper 24 pre-sacral vertebrae are articulating and separated from each other by intervertebral discs, and the lower nine are fused in adults, five in the sacrum and four in the coccyx, or tailbone.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
In other animals the number of thoracic vertebrae can vary greatly; [2] for example, most marsupials have 13, but koalas have only 11. [ 3 ] 12 to 15 is common among mammals , with 18 to 20 in horses , tapirs , rhinoceroses , and elephants , and extremes in mammals are marked by certain sloths with 25 and cetaceans with 9.