What Is The Bony Landmark Of Vertebrae (2024)

The vertebral column, also known as the spine or backbone, is a curved structure made up of 33 small bones called vertebrae. These bones are interconnected and serve several important functions, including supporting the spinal cord and transmitting body weight through the pelvis to the legs. The vertebral arches of lumbar vertebrae consist of pedicles and laminae that encircle the vertebral foramen and support seven main processes.

The vertebral column is a rigid, bony structure that serves several important functions, such as supporting the body and transmitting it through the pelvis to the legs. It is the core part of the axial skeleton in vertebrate animals. The vertebral arches have several bony prominences that act as attachment sites for muscles and ligaments.

The posterior aspect of the sacrum has three bony landmarks: median sacral crest, intermediate sacral crest, and lateral sacral crest. The coccyx is the terminal bone, and these terms include crest, fossa, process, and condyle.

Understanding the basic composition and structure of a bone is crucial for describing the location of bony landmarks. Long bones consist of four distinct bones, while the vertebral arches of lumbar vertebrae consist of paired pedicles and laminae that encircle the vertebral foramen and support seven main processes.

What is a bony landmark?

Bony landmarks, also referred to as bone markings, are distinctive features observed in the bones of the skeleton, including the crest, fossa, process, and condyle. These features are crucial for identifying and recognizing the structural composition of the skeleton.

What are the bony landmarks of the humerus?

The humerus, the largest bone in the upper limb, is the single bone found in the arm and includes key features such as the capitulum, trochlea, intertubercular sulcus, deltoid tuberosity, and olecranon and coronoid fossae. It is classified as a long bone with parts such as the head, neck, tubercles, body, and condyle, and surfaces including anterolateral, anteromedial, posterior, and anterior, medial, and lateral borders.

What are the bone markings of the vertebrae?

The vertebrae are distinguished by a number of defining features, including a vertebral body, a vertebral arch, a vertebral foramen, and a series of extensions, or processes, that project from the vertebral body. The vertebral body is the solid, rounded portion of the vertebra, while the arch is composed of two laminae and two pedicles.

What are the three types of bone landmarks?

Bone markings are a crucial aspect of bone structure, indicating the presence of various functions and locations within the body. There are three main types of bone markings: articulations, projections, and holes. An articulation is a joint where two bone surfaces meet, conforming to one another to facilitate function. A projection is an area above the bone’s surface, serving as attachment points for tendons and ligaments. The size and shape of these markings indicate the forces exerted through the attachment.

A hole is an opening or groove that allows blood vessels and nerves to enter the bone, reflecting the size of the vessels and nerves that penetrate it. Bone cells and tissue are primarily composed of collagen fibers, which provide a surface for inorganic salt crystals to adhere. These salt crystals, formed when calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate combine to create hydroxyapatite, give bones their hardness and strength, while collagen fibers provide flexibility. Overall, bone markings play a significant role in bone function, location, and the penetration of blood vessels and nerves.

What are the bony structures of the vertebrae?

The spine is comprised of vertebrae, including the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and tailbone regions. Each region is separated by a disc. These vertebrae serve to protect and surround the spinal cord. The United States government’s official website offers a wealth of information on a range of topics related to cancer, including its various forms, ongoing research initiatives, available grants, training opportunities, the latest news, upcoming events, and detailed information on the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Which area has a bony landmark called a crest?

The iliac crest is the superior border of the wing of the ilium and the superiolateral margin of the greater pelvis. It extends posteriorly from the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) to the posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS). It divides into an outer and inner lip separated by the intermediate zone, with the outer lip bulging laterally into the iliac tubercle. The crest is palpable, convex superiorly, sinuously curved, and thinner at the center than at the extremities.

What are the landmarks of a typical vertebra?

A typical vertebra consists of a body and a vertebral arch, which is formed by paired pedicles and laminae. The vertebral foramen allows for spinal cord passage, and each spinal nerve exits through an intervertebral foramen between adjacent vertebrae. The vertebral arch forms the posterior portion of each vertebra, consisting of four parts: the right and left pedicles and the right and left laminae. The vertebral foramen contains the spinal cord, and the vertebral canal serves as bony protection and passageway for the spinal cord down the back.

Seven processes arise from the vertebral arch: transverse, spinous, superior articular, and inferior articular processes. The transverse and spinous processes are important muscle attachment sites, while the superior and inferior articular processes extend or face upward and downward on each side of a vertebrae. The shape and orientation of these processes vary in different regions of the vertebral column, determining the type and range of motion available in each region.

In the intact vertebral column, notches in the margins of adjacent vertebrae’s pedicles form an intervertebral foramen, which allows a spinal nerve to exit the vertebral column.

What are bone markings?

Common bone markings are distinctive features on bone surfaces that serve various anatomical, functional, and developmental roles. They provide reference points for understanding skeletal structure, identifying specific bones, and understanding their interactions within the body. Examples include the scapula’s superior, inferior, and acromial angles, and the occiput’s superior, inferior, and lateral angles. The body, the largest, most prominent segment of the bone, includes the diaphysis or shaft of long bones like the femur and humerus.

What are the bony landmarks of the spine level?

Musculoskeletal practitioners often use contiguous bony landmarks, such as the inferior angle of the scapula (IAS), to locate spinal levels. Gray’s Anatomy suggests the IAS corresponds to the level of the ninth rib, which attaches to the spine at the T8–9 interspace. However, there is inconsistency in the location of the IAS, with some authors referring to the level of the spinous process and others to the vertebra’s body.

Lewis et al. reported that manual palpation of surface landmarks is a valid method for determining the actual location of the scapula. However, studies have investigated the reliability of manual and physical therapists in locating spinal levels by palpation of spinous processes, finding their procedures of low reliability.

Locating the precise spinal level by palpation is especially important for practitioners who intend to apply specific therapy to a specific segment. However, anesthetists who attempted to identify a given lumbar interspace by palpation of spinous processes and iliac crests identified a level cephalad to their target in 33 to 68 of cases. Another study reported that the actual level, as determined by markers placed on patients’ backs prior to MRI, was from one space below to four spaces above the level identified by the anesthetist.

Chiropractors are often interested in locating spinal levels by palpation and would benefit from a valid and reliable analytic method.

What is the landmark of the body?

Landmarks in the human body include the bifurcation of the trachea, the bottom tip of the shoulder blade, the topmost point of the aortic arch, and the topmost point of the lung. These landmarks are essential for understanding and interpreting medical information. The copyright for this content belongs to Elsevier B. V., its licensors, and contributors, and all rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining and AI training.

What is a bony column of vertebrae?

The vertebral column, consisting of 33 vertebrae in humans, supports the body’s physical structure and nervous system, enabling movement and sensation. It is composed of vertebrates from the phylum Chordata and includes the skull, ribs, and sternum. The spinal cord, a central lumen within each vertebral body, is protected by the spinal canal, which contains the spinal cord. Spinal nerves emerge from the main cord at each vertebral level, making up the sympathetic trunk and splanchnic nerves. The diameter of the spinal canal varies in different parts of the vertebral column, with larger regions in the cervical and lumbar regions and smaller ones in the thoracic region.