Thoracic Vertebrae (Posterior View)
Anatomy Terms
- Annulus Fibrosus
- Anterior Longitudinal Ligament
- Anterior Sacroiliac Ligament
- Aorta
- Arachnoid Mater
- C1 (Atlas) - 1st Cervical Vertebra
- C2 (Axis) - 2nd Cervical Vertebra
- C3 (3rd Cervical Vertebra)
- C4 (4th Cervical Vertebra)
- C5 (5th Cervical Vertebra)
- C6 (6th Cervical Vertebra)
- C7 (7th Cervical Vertebra)
- Coccyx
- Dorsal Root of Spinal Nerve
- Dura Mater
- Fat in Epidural Space
- Iliolumbar Ligament
- Inferior Articular Process
- Intertransverse Ligaments
- Intervertebral Discs
- L1 (1st Lumbar Vertebra)
- L2 (2nd Lumbar Vertebra)
- L3 (3rd Lumbar Vertebra)
- L4 (4th Lumbar Vertebra)
- L5 (5th Lumbar Vertebra)
- Nucleus Pulposus
- Pia Mater
- Posterior Sacroiliac Ligament
- Radiate Ligaments
- Sacroiliac Joint
- Sacrospinous Ligament
- Sacrotuberous Ligament
- Sacrum
- Spinal Ganglion
- Spinous Process
- Subarachnoid Space
- Superior Articular Process
- Supraspinous Ligament
- T1 (1st Thoracic Vertebra)
- T10 (10th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T11 (11th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T12 (12th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T2 (2nd Thoracic Vertebra)
- T3 (3rd Thoracic Vertebra)
- T4 (4th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T5 (5th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T6 (6th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T7 (7th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T8 (8th Thoracic Vertebra)
- T9 (9th Thoracic Vertebra)
- Transverse Process
- Ventral Ramus (Intercostal Nerve)
- Ventral Root of Spinal Nerve
- Vertebral Body
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Full Thoracic Vertebrae (Posterior View) Description
[Continued from above] . . . upright.
The thoracic vertebrae T1-T10 are each connected to a pair of ribs, one on either side of the rib cage, through articular facets on the transverse processes. These ribs will curve around the body and attach to the sternum. The resulting cage that is formed protects the vital organs such as the liver, heart, and lungs. The lower two thoracic vertebrae, T11 and T12, lack facets for the ribs on their transverse processes, which additionally are shorter here; also, they are more similar in size and function to the lumbar vertebrae. Although the ribs attached to T11 and T12 don’t attach to the chest wall, they do protect the kidneys.
The intervertebral discs in the thoracic spine are thinner than those in the cervical and lumbar spine, adding to the inflexibility of this portion of the spine. The spinal canal gets narrower in the thoracic spine. The vertebral arch protects the spinal cord with an increasingly circular vertebral foramen, which gets smaller as the vertebrae themselves get larger from the T1 down to the T12 vertebra.