In a typical
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
, the vertebral foramen is the
(opening) formed by the anterior segment (the
body), and the posterior part, the
vertebral arch
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
.
The vertebral foramen begins at
cervical vertebra
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sa ...
#1 (C1 or
atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...
) and continues inferior to
lumbar vertebra
The lumbar vertebrae are, in human anatomy, the five vertebrae between the rib cage and the pelvis. They are the largest segments of the vertebral column and are characterized by the absence of the foramen transversarium within the transverse ...
#5 (L5).
The vertebral foramen houses the
spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...
and its
meninges
In anatomy, the meninges (, ''singular:'' meninx ( or ), ) are the three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord. In mammals, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. Cerebrospinal fluid is located in ...
. This large tunnel running up and down inside all of the vertebrae contains the spinal cord and is typically called the
spinal canal, not the vertebral foramen.
See also
*
Atlas (anatomy)#Vertebral foramen
References
*
External links
* - "Superior and lateral views of typical vertebrae"
Vertebral foramen- BlueLink Anatomy - University of Michigan Medical School
* - "Typical Lumbar Vertebra, Superior View; Lumbar Vertebral Column, Oblique Lateral View"
Bones of the thorax
{{Musculoskeletal-stub