SGBP Final 4

The spinal column

(or vertebral

column) is made

up of 33

individual bones

Spine – Structure and Function

My friend announced one day that his doctor had diagnosed his (my
friend’s) condition as cervical spondylosis.

“What’s that?” I asked with wide-eyed innocence.

“Dunno,” he said. “But he told me that it is something I will have to live
with for the rest of my life.”

If you want to take charge of your back pain and get rid of it forever, you must know
some basics of the anatomy and functioning of the spine.

The spine or backbone is made of three different parts:

a) The spinal column

b) The spinal cord and nerves

c) The muscles and ligaments surrounding the spinal

column

The spinal column

This term is given to the bones that make up the backbone. Each of these bones – which
look like a building block – is known as a vertebra (plural – vertebrae). Animals that
possess a spinal column are therefore classified as vertebrates.

The spinal column (or vertebral column) extends from the skull (head) to the pelvis
(hip) and is made up of 33 individual bones or vertebrae stacked one above the other, as
shown in the picture.