Any of the 33 approximately cylindrical bones that form the spine. There are 7 vertebrae in the cervical
spine; 12 vertebrae in the thoracic spine; 5 vertebrae in the lumbar spine; 5 fused vertebrae in the sacrum; and 4 fused vertebrae in the coccyx. The top 24 vertebrae are separated by discs of cartilage (see disc, intervertebral). Each vertebra has a hole in the centre through which the spinal cord runs, and processes to which muscles are attached.
One of the irregularly shaped bones that together form the vertebral column. (See SPINAL COLUMN.)
n. (pl. vertebrae) one of the 33 bones of which the *backbone is composed. Each vertebra typically consists of a body, or centrum, from the back of which arises an arch of bone (the vertebral or neural arch) enclosing a cavity (the vertebral canal, or foramen) through which the spinal cord passes. The vertebral arch bears one spinous process and two transverse processes, providing anchorage for muscles, and four articular processes, with which adjacent vertebrae articulate (see illustration). Individual vertebrae are bound together by ligaments and *intervertebral discs. —vertebral adj.
The seven bones of the top end of the backbone that form the neck. The ?rst cervical vertebra is the atlas and this articulates with the base of the skull. The axis is the second vertebra, which contains a shaft of bone that allows the atlas to rotate on it, thus permitting the head to turn. (See SPINAL COLUMN.)... cervical vertebrae
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