Spine
You are the age of your spine. You are as flexible as your spine. That transfers to other areas of your life - Diane Lane
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image by: Christopher John Deegan
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Anatomy of the Spine
The spine needs to form the connection between the head, the arms and the body. It also needs to be strong enough to take the weight of all the bones above it and still be rigid enough to form a stable platform for our arms and legs to move. Finally, it also needs to move in all directions in its own right.
Evolution has provided a satisfactory solution to this by having a large number of movable joints where each pair of bones moves a slight amount, but when these are added up, they give us a great deal of flexibility while the spine maintains stability.
Resources
10 Surprising Facts About the Spinal Cord
The human spine structure is a set of well-balanced bones and tissues that serve many purposes. There are 33 stacked bones that are interlocked to form the spinal column. The bones are called vertebrae and are divided into five regions:
'Spinal fairy tale' - very human and unique
I see the human spine like a painting - 'multiple paintbrush strokes in each direction with a complex pattern that knows no end or start, with bumps and imperfections that make the painting unique and human'. We are all very human and unique.
A Review of the Segmental Diameter of the Healthy Human Spinal Cord
Knowledge of the average size and variability of the human spinal cord can be of importance when treating pathological conditions in the spinal cord. Data on healthy human spinal cord morphometrics have been published for more than a century using different techniques of measurements, but unfortunately, comparison of results from different studies is difficult because of the different anatomical landmarks used as reference points along the craniocaudal axis for the measurements.
Overview of the Spine
The spine is one of the most remarkable parts of the human body. A basic understanding of the spine’s anatomy and its functions is extremely important to patients with spinal disorders.
Spine-Anatomy-101
The spine is an extraordinarily complex structure made up of a lot of moving parts. It is extremely flexible. No matter how you are standing, lying, or positioning yourself, your spine has strain on it.
The Human Spine in Numbers
The spine has over 100 joints...
The Vertebral Column
The vertebral column is a series of approximately 33 bones called vertebrae, which are separated by intervertebral discs. The column can be divided into five different regions, with each region characterised by a different vertebral structure.
You've Got Some Nerve(s): Exploring the Spinal Nerves
The first step on our journey along the spine is understanding its components. The spinal cord, encased in connective tissue and supported by the vertebrae, is made up of neural tissue (grey and white matter). The vertebral column, which surrounds the spinal cord, is actually longer than the spinal cord, measuring around 71 cm for men and 61 cm for women. In the average adult human, this column contains 33 vertebrae in five different “sections":
Anatomy of the Spine
To understand how the spine is made up we need to think about what our spines need to do during our daily lives.
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