Musculoskeletal ImagingVertebra
1. Anatomyone of the seven cervical, twelve thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral and four coccygeal bones making up the spine. Although variations in anatomy occur at different spinal levels, a typical vertebra consists of a vertebral body, transverse process, spinous process and vertebral foramen. Also, see cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine.
2. Pathology
Vertebrae are involved in numerous pathologic conditions and may exhibit a variety of radiographic appearances (Table 1). These abnormalities are described more fully under their specific names.
Vertebra, Table 1. Some radiographic abnormalities involving vertebrae.
| Name | Description |
|---|
| Block vertebra | Union between adjacent vertebrae, as from failure of segmentation of vertebral somites |
| Butterfly vertebra | Central constriction of the vertebral body, forming a funnel-like defect and dividing the vertebra into two halves |
| Cleft vertebra | Fracture or defect through part of the neural arch (spinous, paraspinous, retroisthmic, retrosomatic, pars intraarticularis) |
| Corduroy vertebra | Thickening of some vertical trabeculae, producing accentuated vertical striations), as in haemangiomas |
| Cupid' s bow vertebra | Parasagittal concavities on the inferior surface of the lower lumbar vertebrae |
| Dog vertebra | Vertebrae with greater height than width |
| Fish vertebra | Biconcave vertebral body resembling the vertebral bodies of fish |
| Ghost vertebra | A bone within bone appearance |
| H vertebra | Central depression and squared-off endplate causing steplike depressions in the inferior and superior margins, as in sickle cell anaemia |
| Limbus vertebra | A form of Schmorls node caused by herniation of part of the nucleus pulposus beneath the ring apophysis prior to fusion of the apophysis to the vertebral body |
| Pancake vertebra | Flattened vertebra with compression of entire vertebral surface |
| Picture frame vertebral body | Presence of enlarged and coarsened trabeculae, with condensation along the contours of the vertebral body, as in Pagets disease |
| Sandwich vertebral body | Presence of an extreme and uniform increase in radiodensity at the superior and inferior margins, as in osteopetrosis. |
| Scalloped vertebra | Exaggerated concavity of the posterior surface of the vertebral body |
| Wedge-shaped vertebra | Collapse of anterior aspect of the vertebral body. |
DR