Intervertebral foramina

You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

Bone: Intervertebral foramina
Sacrum, pelvic surface. (The two rows of four holes are the intervertebral foramina of sacrum, visible but not labeled.)
Image:Foraminaintervertebralia.png
Peculiar thoracic vertebræ. (Intervertebral foramina are visible but not labeled.)
Latin	foramina intervertebralia
Gray's	subject #20 96
Dorlands / Elsevier	f_12/12373154

When the spinal vertebrae are articulated with each other the bodies form a strong pillar for the support of the head and trunk, and the vertebral foraminae constitute a canal for the protection of the medulla spinalis (spinal cord). Between every pair of vertebræ are two apertures, the intervertebral foramina (singular: foramen; also called neural foramina). The foramen allows for the passage of the spinal nerve root, dorsal root ganglion, the spinal artery of the segmental artery, communicating veins between the internal and external plexuses, recurrent meningeal (sinu-vertebral) nerves, and transforaminal ligaments.

Their size is variable due to placement, pathology, spinal loading, and posture. They can be occluded by arthritic degenerative changes and space-occupying lesions like tumors, metastases and spinal disc herniations.

External links

• Diagram at mcgill.ca
• Photo of model at Waynesburg College skeleton2/intervertebralforamen
• Diagram at emory.edu
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 06363.008-2

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

v • d • e Bones of torso
Sternum	Suprasternal notch, Manubrium, Sternal angle, Body of sternum, Xiphisternal joint, Xiphoid process
Rib	specific ribs (1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, false - 8-12, floating - 11-12) - parts (Angle, Tubercle, Costal groove, Neck, Head)
General vertebral structures	body of vertebra, vertebral arch (pedicle, lamina, vertebral notch), foramina (vertebral, intervertebral), processes (transverse, articular / zygapophysis, spinous)
Cervical vertebrae	C1 (anterior arch, posterior arch, lateral mass), C2 (dens), C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 anterior tubercle, posterior tubercle, foramen transversarium
Thoracic vertebrae	T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T11, T12 costal facets (superior, inferior, transverse)
Lumbar vertebrae	accessory process, mammillary process, L5
Sacrum	pelvic surface (anterior sacral foramina), dorsal surface (posterior sacral foramina, median sacral crest, medial sacral crest, lateral sacral crest), lateral surface (sacral tuberosity), base, sacral hiatus - presacral space - sacral promontory - sacral canal - ala of sacrum - sacrovertebral angle

hu:Foramina intervertebralia

Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .