Wirbelsäule/en

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

Bei der Kyphose ist der obere Teil der Wirbelsäule nach vorne gekrümmt. Diese Verformung kann unter Umständen angeboren sein oder erst im Laufe des Lebens entstehen z.B, wenn der Körper versucht andere Fehlstellungen auszugleichen. Der Cobb- Winkel dient als Richtmaß für die Beurteilung der Kyphose.

Ein Beispiel für eine kyphotische Ausprägung einer Wirbelsäule seht Ihr oben im WebViewer.

Lordose

Als pathologische Veränderung der Lordose beschreibt man eine Fehlhaltung der Lendenwirbelsäule, bei der sich die Bauchpartie durch Verlagerung des Beckens nach vorne wölbt. Spätfolgen wären unter anderem Bandscheibenvorfälle, Spinalkanalstenosen und Gleitwirbel. Ursachen können eine durch Bewegungsmangel oder falsche Körperhaltung verkürzte bzw. untrainierte Rückenmuskulatur sein, welche die Funktion der Bauchmuskulatur als Antagonist hemmt, indem sie sich nicht entspannt.

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