Articular processes
Encyclopedia
The articular processes or zygapophyses (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 ζυγον = "yoke
Yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen...

" (because it links two vertebrae) + απο = "away" + φυσις = "process
-physis
The word morpheme -physis occurs at the ends of some anatomical names, usually of projecting parts of bones, and in some names of animals . If with a Greek preposition, as in e.g. X-physis, it means "a process which sticks out in the direction X"; otherwise it means "form", "nature"...

") of a vertebra, two superior and two inferior, spring from the junctions of the pedicles
Pedicle of vertebral arch
The pedicles are two short, thick processes, which project dorsally, one on either side, from the superior part of the vertebral body at the junction of its posterior and lateral surfaces. They connect the body of the spinal vertebra to the arch...

 and laminæ
Lamina of the vertebral arch
The laminæ are two broad plates, extending dorsally and medially from the pedicles, fusing to complete the roof of the vertebral arch.Their upper borders and the lower parts of their anterior surfaces are rough for the attachment of the ligamenta flava....

. These stick out of an end of a vertebra to lock with a zygapophysis on the next vertebra, to make the backbone
Vertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...

 more stable.
  • The superior processes or prezygapophysis project upward from a lower vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less backward.
  • The inferior processes or postzygapophysis project downward from a higher vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less forward and outward.


The articular surfaces are coated with hyaline cartilage
Hyaline cartilage
Hyaline cartilage consists of a slimy mass, pearly bluish in colour with firm consistency and considerable collagen. It contains no nerves or blood vessels, and its structure is relatively simple....

.

In the cervical vertebral column, the articular processes collectively form the articular pillars. These are the bony surfaces palpated just later to the spinous processes, since the cervical spine lacks transverse processes.

External links

- "Lumbar Vertebral Column, Posterolateral View" - "Superior and lateral views of typical vertebrae."
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK