The articular processes or zygapophyses (
Greek ζυγον = "
yoke" (because it links two vertebrae) + απο = "away" + φυσις = "
process") of a
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
are projections of the vertebra that serve the purpose of fitting with an adjacent vertebra. The actual region of contact is called the ''articular facet''.
[Moore, Keith L. et al. (2010) ''Clinically Oriented Anatomy'', 6th Ed, p.442 fig. 4.2]
Articular processes spring from the junctions of the
pedicles and
laminæ, and there are two right and left, and two superior and inferior. These stick out of an end of a
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
to lock with a zygapophysis on the next vertebra, to make the
backbone
The backbone is the vertebral column of a vertebrate.
Arts, entertainment, and media Film
* ''Backbone'' (1923 film), a 1923 lost silent film starring Alfred Lunt
* ''Backbone'' (1975 film), a 1975 Yugoslavian drama directed by Vlatko Gilić
...
more stable.
* The superior processes or prezygapophysis project upward from a lower vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less backward (oblique coronal plane).
* The inferior processes or postzygapophysis project downward from a higher vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less forward and outward.
The articular surfaces are coated with
hyaline cartilage.
In the cervical vertebral column, the articular processes collectively form the
articular pillar
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sau ...
s. These are the bony surfaces palpated just lateral to the spinous processes.
Additional images
Image:Cervical vertebra english.png, Cervical vertebra
Image:Gray301.png, Median sagittal section of two lumbar vertebræ and their ligaments.
See also
*
Pars interarticularis
Pars may refer to:
* Fars Province of Iran, also known as Pars Province
* Pars (Sasanian province), a province roughly corresponding to the present-day Fars, 224–651
* ''Pars'', for ''Persia'' or ''Iran'', in the Persian language
* Pars News A ...
*
Zygapophyseal joint
References
External links
*
Articular processes- BlueLink Anatomy - University of Michigan Medical School
* - "Lumbar Vertebral Column, Posterolateral View"
* - "Superior and lateral views of typical vertebrae."
*
Photo of model at Waynesburg College skeleton2/inferiorarticularprocess'
*
Photo of model at Waynesburg College skeleton2/superiorarticularprocess'
Bones of the thorax
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