VERTEBRAL JOINTS-ARTICULATION BETWEEN NEURAL ARCHES

SUMMARY

1. Facet joints: synovial joints between articular facets. Possess a simple capsule which blends laterally with the ligamentum flavum. These joints have a nerve supply from their own segmental level & one level above. Pars defects/fractures of L5/S1 lead to spondylolisthesis.

2. Ligamentum flavum (yellow ligament): joins contiguous borders of adjacent lamina. Attaches to the front of the lamina above and to the back of the lamina below. Laterally attaches to the facet joint capsule.

3. Supraspinous ligament: strong white fibrous band that joins the tips of adjacent spinous processes. In the neck it is replaced by the ligamentum nuchae (nape of neck).

4. Interspinous ligament: different from the supraspinous ligament. Weak fibrous tissue uniting adjacent spinous processes. Well developed in the lumbar region. Merges with the supraspinous ligament.

5. Intertransverse ligament: weak sheets of fibrous tissue joining adjacent transverse processes.


Image: Lumbosacral spine. Netter. (2014). Atlas of Human Anatomy, Sixth Edition. 6th ed. Elsevier.

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.