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Bony spine

| View from ventral | View from dorsal | View from lateral |

Sections of the spine

The function of the spine is to enable mobility, an upright posture and the stabilization of the trunk. It protects the spinal cord from injury.

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The spine of an adult is divided into four sections: Cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine and sacral spine (os sacrum). Accordingly, in humans it also has four typical curves in the sagittal plane. These curvatures dampen shocks when walking or falling on the feet or the spine.
Each section is made up of individual vertebrae:

• 7 Cervical vertebrae
• 12 Thoracic vertebrae
• 5 Lumbar vertebrae
• 5 Sacral vertebrae

The vertebral bodies support or carry the spine. Another important task is the formation of blood cells in their bone marrow. The cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine is also known as the presacral spine. The transition regions between the parts of the spine are a weak point for spinal diseases.

Characteristic angles

The integration of the spine into the pelvic girdle results in characteristic angles between conceived axes. They help to uncover shape and position errors of the spinal column or the trunk.

sacral angle: this angle is about 30° and is situated between the horizontal and the head-facing surface of the coccyx.
lumbosacral angle: is approx. 135° and is located between the axes of the 5th lumbar vertebra and the 1st sacral vertebra. It decreases in the case of a hollow back and increases in the case of exaggerated pelvic alignment.
pelvic tilt angle (Inclinatio pelvis): about 60° with upright posture. Angle between the virtual plane through the pelvic entrance and the horizontal. Since it increases or decreases in size when the pelvis tilts forwards or backwards, it is relatively easy to determine the position of the pelvis by means of perceptible bone points.
gravity corer: The gravity corer leads from the uppermost cervical vertebra to the upper end of the sacrum. The outer auditory canal, the mandrel of the 2nd cervical vertebra and the centre of gravity of the entire body are located directly ventral to the promontory.

Spinal deformation

Deformations of the spine can cause wear and tear and muscle tension. In principle, there are three types of deformation: Scoliosis, kyphosis and lordosis. The kyphosis and lordosis are physiological to a certain degree.

Scoliosis

Here the natural curvature of the spine changes and begins to deform laterally. This twisting of the vertebral bodies around their own axis is called torsion. The cause of scoliosis cannot be found in 80% of cases. In some cases it can be traced back to:

• a disorder of the musculature (myopathic scoliosis)
• a partially congenital deformation of the vertebral bodies (osteopathic scoliosis)
• a disturbed nerve supply in the back (neuropathic scoliosis)

Kyphosis

In kyphosis, the upper part of the spine is curved forward. This deformation can under certain circumstances be congenital or only occur in the course of life, e.g. when the body tries to compensate for other malpositions. The Cobb angle serves as a guideline for the assessment of kyphosis.

You can see an example of a kyphotic expression of a spinal column above in the WebViewer.

Lordosis

A pathological change in the lordosis is described as a malposition of the lumbar spine, in which the abdominal area bulges forward due to the displacement of the pelvis. Late consequences would include herniated discs, spinal canal stenosis and gliding vertebrae. Causes can be shortened or untrained back muscles due to lack of exercise or incorrect posture. It inhibits the function of the abdominal muscles as antagonists by not relaxing.

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