Spinal anatomy

Dr Craig Hacking ◉ ◈ and Dr Tim Luijkx ◉ et al.

Spinal anatomy encompasses the anatomy of all osseous and soft tissue structures of the spine, the spinal cord and its supporting structures.

This anatomy section promotes the use of the Terminologia Anatomica, the global standard for correct gross anatomical nomenclature.

Overview

The spine is located in the midline posteriorly, extending from the base of the skull to natal cleft, supporting the head, shoulder girdle, rib cage, and attaching to the pelvis.

It is composed of 24 vertebrae separated by intervertebral discs, with additional sacral and coccygeal segments which are usually but, variably, fused. The vertebrae are grouped together into groups based on similar osteology and regional relations; cervical spine (7 vertebrae), thoracic spine (12 vertebrae), and lumbar spine (5 vertebrae). The sacrum has five fused vertebral segments and the coccyx has a further 3 to 5 vertebral segments.

Anatomy: Spine

osteology
intervertebral disc
- annulus fibrosus
- nucleus pulposus
articulations
ligaments
musculature of the vertebral column
- muscles of the neck
- muscles of the back
  - suboccipital muscle group
    - rectus capitis posterior major muscle
    - rectus capitis posterior minor muscle
    - obliquus capitis superior muscle
    - obliquus capitis inferior muscle
  - splenius capitis muscle
  - splenius cervicis muscle
  - erector spinae group
  - transversospinalis group
  - quadratus lumborum
spinal cord
- gross anatomy
- white matter tracts
  - anterolateral columns
  - lateral columns
  - dorsal columns
    - fasiculus gracilis (column of Goll)
    - fasiculus cuneatus (column of Burdach)
- gray matter
- nerve root
  - conjoined nerve root
- spinal meninges and spaces
- functional anatomy
  - thoracic autonomic outflow
  - sacral autonomic outflow
- spinal cord blood supply
  - arteries
    - vertebral artery
      - anterior spinal artery
        sulcal artery
      - posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA)
        posterior spinal arteries
    - segmental arteries
      - artery of Adamkiewicz
  - veins
    - spinal segmental veins
      - vertebral venous plexus
      - Batson venous plexus

Anatomy: General

anatomic position
Terminologia Anatomica
anatomic variants
regional anatomy
systems anatomy
- reticuloendothelial system
- endocrine system
osteology
- skeleton
  - axial skeleton
  - appendicular skeleton
- bones
  - macroscopic structure
  - microscopic structure
  - bone growth
    - fetal bone formation
      - notochord
    - developmental ossification
      - endochondral ossification
        
        primary ossification
        
        secondary ossification
      - intramembranous ossification
  - bones types
  - nutrient foramen
- joints
  - structural types
  - functional types
muscles
- bursa
organs
- embryology
  - mesenchyme
  - parenchyma
- skin
  - glomus body
blood vessels
- histology
  - intracranial arteries
nerves
- histology
  - Obersteiner-Redlich zone

Anatomy: Radiological

The anatomy section is organised into seven expandable chapters based on regional body systems:

Article information

rID: 33451

System: Spine

Section: Anatomy

Tags: spine; spinal; anatomy, refs, stub, cases

Synonyms or Alternate Spellings:

Spine anatomy
Anatomy of the spine
Vertebral column anatomy
Anatomy of the vertebral column

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Cases and figures

Case 1: normal MRICase 1: normal MRI

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