Hola dora! I am going to discuss the vertebral region. First is the cervical vertebrae. They are found in the
neck region and consist of seven bony rings that reside in the neck between the base of the skull and the
thoracic vertebrae in the trunk. All cervical vertebrae have three foramina: one vertebral foramen and
two transverse foramina. The large opening between the vertebral arch and body is the vertebral
foramen, which contains the spinal cord. Intervertebral Foramen is the opening through which a spinal
nerve exits from the vertebral column. Each cervical transverse process contains a transverse foramen
through which the vertebral artery and its accompanying vein and nerve fibers pass. Atlas c1 is the First
cervical vertebra inferior to the skull and is named after the mythological Atlas who supported the world
on his shoulders. It has a ring of bone with anterior and posterior arches and large lateral masses. It face
upward and are deeply curved for articulation with the occipital condyles on the base of the skull. They
articulate with the occipital condyles of the occipital bone to form the paired atlanto-occipital joints.
These articulations permit you to move your head to be an indication of “yes.” Axis c2 is the second
cervical vertebra and have a vertebral body. It serves as an axis for rotation when turning the head
towards the right or left. A peglike process called the dens or odontoid process is a bony projection that
extends upward from the vertebral body. The dens makes a pivot on which the atlas and head rotate. This
arrangement permits side-to-side movement of the head, as when you move your head to be an indication
of “no.” The articulation formed between the anterior arch of the atlas and dens of the axis, and between
their articular facets is called the atlanto-axial joint. Third through Sixth Cervical Vertebrae (C3-C6) are
often grouped together as they are very similar to one another in form and function. Vertebra Prominens
or (C7) is the seventh cervical vertebra and it is the largest and most inferior vertebra in the neck region.
It has a large, non bifid spinous process that may be seen and felt at the base of the neck, but otherwise
is typical. This spinous process can be easily seen and felt at the neck, making it a prominent landmark of
the skeleton and giving the C7 a name which is the vertebra prominens. And now we go on to the thoracic
vertebrae. Thoracic vertebrae are considerably larger and stronger than cervical vertebrae and they are
found in the chest region and articulate with the ribs. The spinous processes on T1 through T10 are long,
laterally flattened, and have a pronounced downward angle that causes it to overlap the next inferior
vertebra. The spinous processes on T11 and T12 are shorter, broader, and directed more posteriorly. They
have longer and larger transverse processes compared to cervical vertebrae; easily identified by their
costal facets which are articular surfaces for the ribs. The transverse processes of thoracic vertebrae have
costal facets that articulate with the tubercles of the ribs except T11 and T12. Tubercles are the small
rounded point of a bone. The vertebral bodies of thoracic vertebrae have articular surfaces that form
articulations with the heads of the ribs. The articular surfaces on the vertebral bodies are called either
facets or demifacets. A facet is formed when the head of a rib articulates with the body of one vertebra.
A demifacet is formed when the head of a rib articulates with two adjacent vertebral bodies. On each side
of the vertebral body, T1 has a superior facet for the first rib and an inferior demifacet for the second rib.
On each side of the vertebral body of T2–T8, there is a superior demifacet and an inferior demifacet as
ribs two through nine articulate with two vertebrae, and T10–T12 have a facet on each side of the
vertebral body for ribs 10–12. Vertebrocostal Joints are the articulation between the thoracic vertebrae
and ribs; which are the distinguishing features of thoracic vertebrae. Now that you know the cervical and
thoracic vertebrae. Lets move on to the next part, see u next time!