The vertebral column is comprised of many vertebrae. It can be divided into 3 distinct parts: cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines. Test your knowledge on the thoracic and lumbar spines here: [ Ссылка ]

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The thoracic spine is made up by a collection of 12 vertebrae located in the middle section of the vertebral column, specifically inferior to the cervical vertebrae and superior to the lumbar vertebrae. These vertebrae span the large majority of the chest cavity area. The ribs articulate with the thoracic vertebrae.

Below the thoracic vertebrae, inferior to the rib cage and superior to the pelvis, you can find the lumbar vertebrae. They are the lowest group of vertebrae found in the vertebral column and are 5 in total. We commonly refer to these vertebrae as L1-L5. The lumbar vertebrae are the largest vertebrae in the spine of the Human body, because they bear the weight of the upper body. The lumbar vertebrae do not have transverse foramina within their transverse processes. Facets on the sides of the bodies of these vertebrae are also absent.

On this video tutorial, we will compare the thoracic and lumbar spines. We will cover the following points:

0:18 overview of the anatomy of thoracic and lumbar spines;
3:27 bony structures found on the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae;
18:50 introduction to the intervertebral discs;
20:56 ligaments and joints found in the thoracic and lumbar spines: zygapophyseal joints, intertransverse ligaments, ligamentum flavum, interspinous ligaments, anterior longitudinal ligament, posterior longitudinal ligament and supraspinous ligament.

Want to test your knowledge on the anatomy of the thoracic and lumbar spines? Take this quiz: [ Ссылка ]

Read more on the anatomy of the thoracic spine on this article which also includes a relevant clinical section about herniated discs:
[ Ссылка ]

For more engaging video tutorials, interactive quizzes, articles and an atlas of Human anatomy and histology, go to [ Ссылка ]

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