vertebra

References

Images

Anaconda and Titanoboa vertebrae

Side-by-side skeletal diagrams compare a modern human standing upright and a gorilla walking on all fours, with labeled bones and close-up views of the female pelvis for each species.

Nerves and ganglia of the human spinal cord

vertebra

anatomy

Also known as: vertebrae

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Learn about this topic in these articles:

- joint
  Symphyses
  …one between each pair of vertebrae below the first cervical vertebra, or atlas, and above the second sacral vertrebra (just above the tailbone). The lumbar (lower back) disks are thickest, the thoracic (chest or upper back) are thinnest, and the cervical are of intermediate size. These differences are associated with…
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  …one between each pair of vertebrae below the first cervical vertebra, or atlas, and above the second sacral vertrebra (just above the tailbone). The lumbar (lower back) disks are thickest, the thoracic (chest or upper back) are thinnest, and the cervical are of intermediate size. These differences are associated with…
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- vertebral column
  Each vertebra, in higher vertebrates, consists of a ventral body, or centrum, surmounted by a Y-shaped neural arch. The arch extends a spinous process (projection) downward and backward that may be felt as a series of bumps down the back, and two transverse processes, one to…
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  Each vertebra, in higher vertebrates, consists of a ventral body, or centrum, surmounted by a Y-shaped neural arch. The arch extends a spinous process (projection) downward and backward that may be felt as a series of bumps down the back, and two transverse processes, one to…
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- human skeleton
  The spinal cord
  …centrums, or bodies, of the vertebrae and the intervertebral disks—the tough, resilient pads between the vertebral bodies—while in back and on the sides the cord is enclosed and protected by the portion of each vertebra called the neural arch. Between the neural arches are sheets of elastic connective tissue, the…
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  …centrums, or bodies, of the vertebrae and the intervertebral disks—the tough, resilient pads between the vertebral bodies—while in back and on the sides the cord is enclosed and protected by the portion of each vertebra called the neural arch. Between the neural arches are sheets of elastic connective tissue, the…
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- spondylitis
  …one or more of the vertebrae. Spondylitis takes several forms; the most widely occurring forms are ankylosing spondylitis, hypertrophic spondylitis, and tuberculous spondylitis.
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  …one or more of the vertebrae. Spondylitis takes several forms; the most widely occurring forms are ankylosing spondylitis, hypertrophic spondylitis, and tuberculous spondylitis.
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- spondylolisthesis
  …slipping of one of the vertebrae on the subjacent vertebra or on the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spinal column. The most common vertebrae involved are the lumbar (lower back). The condition is often associated with degenerative joint disease or with abnormalities of the vertebral column,…
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  …slipping of one of the vertebrae on the subjacent vertebra or on the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spinal column. The most common vertebrae involved are the lumbar (lower back). The condition is often associated with degenerative joint disease or with abnormalities of the vertebral column,…
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