Between the vertebrae are small spaces known as intervertebral canals that allow spinal nerves to exit the spinal cord and connect to the various regions of the body. The vertebrae of the spine align so that their vertebral canals form a hollow, bony tube to protect the spinal cord from external damage and infection. The inner nucleus pulposus acts as a shock absorber to support the body’s weight and prevent the vertebrae from painfully crashing into each other while under strain.The annulus fibrosus is made of tough fibrocartilage that binds the vertebrae together but is flexible enough to allow for our movements.Intervertebral discs are made of an outer shell known as the annulus fibrosus and a soft, pulpy region known as the nucleus pulposus in the middle. Between the body, transverse processes and spinous process is the vertebral foramen, a hollow space that contains the spinal cord and meninges.īetween the vertebrae of the spine are thin regions of cartilage known as the intervertebral discs.The spinous process extends from the ends of the transverse processes in the posterior direction.Extending from the body, the transverse processes are thin columns of bone that point out to the left and right sides of the body.
The vertebrae are named by the first letter of their region (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) and with a number to indicate their position along the superior-inferior axis. Prior to adolescence, the spine consists of 33 bones because the sacrum’s five bones and the coccyx’s four do not fuse together until adolescence.