vertebrae

     

The Vertebral column (singular: vertebra) are the inividual irregular bones that make up the spinal column (aka ischis) — a flexuous and flexible column common to all Vertebrates.

Trivia about vertebrae

  • You can't call snakes spineless: they may have over 300 of these bones, compared to humans
  • In diplodocus, these individual back bones were hollow, keeping the animal's weight to 12 tons
  • The name of these bones that form the spinal column comes partly from a word meaning "to turn"
  • They're any of the bones that form the spinal column
  • As a child you have 33 of these bones that make up the spine; later some fuse together
  • There are 33 of these bones in the body including 7 in the neck & 12 in the chest region
  • Despite its length, the neck of the giraffe has only 7 of these bones, but they are elongated
  • The cervical spine has 7, the thoracic spine - 12, the lumbar spine - 5, the sacrum - 5, & the coccyx - 4
  • Cats have more of these dorsal bones than humans; in between them are discs of pliable fibrocartilage
  • The Arabian is a smaller breed than most, having 23 of these, unlike the usual 24 for other horses
  • A lion's teeth are spaced to slip between these when biting through a spinal column
  • 12 of these 33 bones are thoracic