CT Typical Vertebra - Video Lesson

Hey everybody, welcome back. This lesson is about the characteristic anatomy of a typical vertebrae as seen in CT imaging. We'll start with an illustration. This is a superior view of a typical vertebrae. Vertebrae vary greatly in size and shape for any given section of the vertebral column. But a typical vertebrae consists of two main divisions, the anterior portion called the vertebral body and the posterior portion called the vertebral arch. The typical vertebrae also has several bony appendages that have special names. We're using this lumbar vertebrae as an example because it has all of the characteristic features and no extra features. Most vertebrae have this anterior segment that we've already called the vertebral body, or we could just call it the body. The vertebral body has a cylinder shape from this perspective. The vertebral body carries the weight of the body above it. Vertebral bodies start small in the cervical spine and then increase in size through the lumbar and sacral sections. The pedicles are short, round stumps.