Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Body - Senses Challenge. Cervical vertebrae number 5. Vertebrae in the Cervical, Thoracic and Lumbar Spine. Collectively, the vertebral bodies comprise the boney building blocks of the spine. They are stacked on top of each other with a disc in between each one. All of the vertebral bodies act as a support column to hold up the spine. This column supports about half of the weight of the body, with the other half supported by the muscles. Each area of the spine has some differences in the form and function of vertebral bodies and how they are attached to adjacent structures.
Vertebral Bodies in the Cervical Spine (Neck) The cervical spine has seven vertebral bodies (segments). The first cervical segment (called the atlas) is a ring that does not have a vertebral body. Unlike the rest of the spine, the segments in the cervical spine contain openings in each vertebral body for arteries to carry blood to the brain (vertebral artery running through the transverse foramen). See Cervical Vertebrae Article continues below Vertebral Bodies in the Thoracic Spine (Upper Back) In This Article:
Cervical vertebrae. In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull. Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also belong to the trunk, but do not carry ribs. In reptiles, all trunk vertebrae carry ribs and are called dorsal vertebrae. In many species, though not in mammals, the cervical vertebrae bear ribs. In many other groups, such as lizards and saurischian dinosaurs, the cervical ribs are large; in birds, they are small and completely fused to the vertebrae.
In humans, cervical vertebrae are the smallest of the true vertebrae, and can be readily distinguished from those of the thoracic or lumbar regions by the presence of a foramen (hole) in each transverse process, through which passes the vertebral artery. The remainder of this article focuses upon human anatomy. Structure[edit] Artificial Anatomy | History.