THORACIC VERTEBRA

SUMMARY

1. Normally kyphotic (hunchback, bent forward)

2. Costal elements ossify separately as ribs

3. The concave facets on the upper transverse processes (TP) look downwards, whilst the flat facets on the lower TP looks upwards

4. The spinous processes (SP) slope downwards from T1-7, from T7-12 become progressively more horizontal

5. The prominent SP of the vertebra prominence may be that of C7 or T1

6. The vertebral bodies become larger from above downwards with the middle 4 showing slight asymmetry with a left-sided excavation produced by the descending aorta


Image: Case courtesy of OpenStax College, Radiopaedia.org. From the case rID: 42770.

Reference(s)

R.M.H McMinn (1998). Last’s anatomy: regional and applied. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Get it on Amazon.
Drake, Richard L., et al. Gray's Anatomy for Students. Elsevier, 2023. Get it on Amazon.