Vertebral Body
The vertebral body on a typical vertebra is a drum-shaped body (centrum) that forms a thick, anterior portion of the bone. A longitudinal row of the bodies supports the weight of the head and trunk. The intervertebral disks, which separate joining vertebrae, are fastened to the roughened upper and lower surfaces of the bodies. These disks cushion and soften the forces created by walking and jumping, which might otherwise fracture the vertebrae or jar the brain. Each intervertebral disk is composed of a band of fibrous fibrocartilage (anulus fibrosus) that surrounds a gelatinous core, called the nucleus pulposus. The bodies of adjacent vertebrae are joined on the front surfaces by anterior ligaments and on the back by posterior ligaments. Projecting from the back of each body are two short stalks called pedicles.
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