#vertebrae notes

-- the disk-shaped body is called the centrum

-- the centrum gives strength to the bone

-- the vertebral arch is a bony ring behind the body

-- the opening in the ring is called the vertebral foramen

-- the vertebral foramen contains the spinal cord

-- the continuous cavity formed by the foramen is called the vertebral canal

-- the pedicles form the anterior side of the vertebral arch

-- the laminae form the posterior side of the vertebral arch

-- intervertebral disks separate adjacent vertebrae

-- intervertebral foramina are openings between the superior and inferior surfaces of each pedicle of the vertebral arch and allow nerves to branch out from the spinal cord