What is an unfused vertebrae?

The thoracic vertebrae are a group of twelve small bones that form the vertebral spine in the upper trunk. They form the region of the spinal column inferior to the cervical vertebrae of the neck and superior to the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back.

How many unfused vertebrae are there?

Vertebral Column and Spinal Cord The vertebral column (VC) is composed of 33 vertebrae [cervical (C), 7; thoracic (T), 5; lumbar (L), 5; sacral (S), 5; coccygeal, 4], which are interconnected by intervertebral (IV) disks (except C1, C2) and stabilized by spinal ligaments.

What is unfused ossification center?

Unfused transverse process ossification center is a smooth well corticated and normally aligned lateral part of a vertebral process that failed to fuse to the proximal part of the transverse process.

What is a vertebral apophysis?

The ring apophysis is a secondary ossification center of the vertebral endplate connected to the intervertebral disc. It is firmly attached to disc fibrous annulus through Sharpey fibers and its ossification occurs at 4-6 years old.

What are the 5 areas of the spine?

The spine is composed of 33 bones, called vertebrae, divided into five sections: the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine sections, and the sacrum and coccyx bones. The cervical section of the spine is made up of the top seven vertebrae in the spine, C1 to C7, and is connected to the base of the skull.

Which part of the spine is responsible for linking the vertebrae together?

The facet joints link the vertebrae together and give them the flexibility to move against each other. Each vertebra has a hole in the center, so when they stack on top of each other they form a hollow tube that holds and protects the entire spinal cord and its nerve roots.

What is the most inferior spinal nerve?

coccygeal nerve
The most inferior of the spinal nerves, the coccygeal nerve leaves the spinal cord at the level of the conus medullaris via respective vertebrae through their intervertebral foramina, superior to the filum terminale.

What age does the spine ossify?

The odontoid process forms in utero from two separate ossification centers that fuse in the midline by the 7th fetal month. A secondary ossification center appears at the apex of the odontoid process (os terminale) between 3 and 6 years of age and fuses by age 12 years.

What is the difference between primary and secondary ossification centers?

The primary ossification center is the first place where the bone formation begins in the axle of a long bone or in the body of an irregular bone. Conversely, the secondary ossification center is the area of ossification that appears after the primary center of ossification at the epiphysis of edges of bones.

What structure does the ring apophysis eventually become?

The vertebral ring apophysis ossifies during childhood and adolescence until it eventually fuses with the vertebral body through skeletal maturation in early adulthood [9].

What is spondylolysis?

Spondylolysis is a stress fracture through the pars interarticularis of the lumbar vertebrae. The pars interarticularis is a thin bone segment joining two vertebrae. It is the most likely area to be affected by repetitive stress. This condition is fairly common and is found in one out of every 20 people.

What areas of the body are the cervical nerve roots in charge of?

Cervical Nerve Functions Cervical nerves provide control and sensation to different parts of the body based on the spinal level from where they branch out. More specifically: C1, C2, and C3 (the first three cervical nerves) control the head and neck, including movements forward, backward, and to the sides.

What do you need to know about the unfused spinous process?

Unfused spinous process. Unfused spinous process, which is really failure of fusion of the neural arch , is a relatively common anatomical variant and is part of the spectrum of spina bifida occulta . This should be differentiated from accessory ossicles of the spinous process, which appear after non-fusion of the secondary ossification center

Where do unfused ossicles appear in the spinous process?

Unfused spinous process. This should be differentiated from accessory ossicles of the spinous process, which appear after non-fusion of the secondary ossification centre (or centres in bifid spinous processes). These appear as a well-corticated fragment adjacent to the tip of the spinous process with a vertical or near-vertical lucency.

What causes radiologist to be uncertain about cervical spine?

Epiphyseal variants, unique vertebral architecture, incomplete ossification of synchondroses and apophyses, and hypermobility may all cause the radiologist to feel uncertain when interpreting images obtained in a child with a history of injury, pain, and stress.

When does the anterior arch of the spine become ossified?

The anterior arch is ossified in only 20% of cases at birth and becomes visible as an ossification center by 1 year of age. The neural arches appear in the 7th fetal week.