Spine

The vertebral column; the central support of the skeleton,consisting of individual bones called vertebrae.

The backbone surrounds and protects the delicate spinal cord.There are 33 sections in a baby’s backbone, 24 in a grown adult. Muscles and ligaments attach to the sections. The muscles support the spine. Cartilage makes up 25% of the Spine’s length. Cartilage is what bones are made of and some cartilage are still not developed. The spinal cord is the center of the nervous system which is the feeling system.

The backbone has many sections. The top section is the Cervical Vertebrae. The middle section is the Dorsal or Thoracic Vertebrae.The last and final section is the Lumbar Vertebrae. The is about 24 sections of the backbone. The backbone is the main support of the body and the bones. The location of the backbone is behind every organ in your body,including the heart.

The spine (or spinal column) has two main functions: it serves as a protective surrounding for the delicate spinal cord and forms the supporting backbone of the skeleton.The spine consist of 24 separate, differently shaped bones (vertebrae) with a curved, triangular bone (the sacrum) at the bottom. The sacrum is made up of fused vertebrae; at its lower end is a small tail-like structure made up of tiny bones collectively called the coccyx.

Between each pair of vertebrae is a disk of cartilage that cushions the bones during movement. The top two vertebrae differ in appearance from the others and work as a pair:the first,called the atlas, rotates around a stout vertical peg on the second,called the axis. This arrangement allows the skull to move freely up and down,and from side to side.

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