GD CORE 2: Bones 1 (H-N)

We have 7 neck vertebrae. Giraffes have long necks but surprisingly only have twice as many thoracic vertebrae as we do.

These bones with spinous processes on the back side are the cervical vertebrae of the neck. (You cannot see the spinous processes in this illustration.)

The round “body” of each cervical vertebrae in your neck faces inward toward your chest. The round “body” of vertebrae is on the opposite side of the vertebrae as the “body” is. (Look further down the page if you need help on this.)

How many bones are in an adult person’s body?

The bony part of the vertebrae which stick out toward the back are called spinous processes.

These woven white bands are called discs. They cushion the pounding of each vertebrae against its neighbors.

Your backbone, your spine, has 25 discs.

The Nucleus Pulposus (below) is filled with different types of protein. Some are the highly negatively charged proteins, aggrecan. This helps the Nucleus Pulposus’ “bag” to swell with water like an airbag in a car fills with air. This helps the discs to cushion the shock of day-by-day pounding of your vertebrae on each other.

Individual vertebrae curve inward on the sides to give them extra strength. The “curved wall” increases their resistance to being compressed and broken as you jump and land. The side of the “body” is like a sideways arch!

Back injuries are caused because the human backbone is poorly designed.

You can re-injure your back as you sleep because your brain often flips you over as you sleep if you sleep on your side. This is because you cut off full circulation on the side you are laying on.

Exercising daily helps you feel better because it releases endorphins, brings clear thinking, far better health, and pleasant fitness.

What is this?

The hole in each of these vertebrae is for the blood supply going to the whale’s head.

A whale’s spinal cord may have as many as 100 billion nerves.

The whale’s ribs are called floating ribs because they do not connect to a bone on the underside.

The pink parts of this diagram are cartilage that connect the ribs to the clavicle.

We have 4 floating ribs.