Spinal Study

The second addition to my Bone Anatomy Studies is the Spinal Column.

This was a difficult study as there are so many bones to the spine!

There are 3 groups of bones that make up the majority of the spine.

1. Cervical Vertebrae
2. Thoracic Vertebrae
3. Lumber Vertebrae

At the bottom of the spinal column it finishes with the Sacrum and Coccyx. It is the Sacrum that connects the hips to the spine.

There are 7 Cervical Vertebrae, 12 Thoracic Vertebrae, and 5 Lumber. Within each section the bones follow the same sort of shape; varying only slightly in size (mainly), getting larger as they go down.

The Cervical Vertebrae make up the neck, Thoracic Vertebrae holds the rib cage, and the Lumber Vertebrae are the largest supporting the bottom of the spine.

In terms of drawing the spine these are the tips I picked up: 

• rough out the spine with 3 lines; The centre line, and the edges where it makes connections to the ribs.
• It is roughly the shape of an 'S' with a small flick at the bottom for the Sacrum and Coccyx.
• Until the Lumber Vertebrae the Spinal Process (the bits that follow stick out of the centre line) are the main bits to draw, as the Transverse Process (the bits that stick out the side) connect to the ribs along the Thoracic Vertebrae.

Finally, I learnt how to spell vert-E-brae...