24 intervertebral disks. Pedicles - on lateral sides of body, project posteriorly, and then join at midline. Neural Arch is created where they join at midline. This foreman provides passage of spinal cord. Muscles and ligaments attach to spines.
Spines protect vertebral column.
Transverse processes project laterally on both sides. Muscles and ligaments attach to theses processes as well. Ribs articulate with transverse processes in thoracic vertebrae. Intervertebral discs sit between the vertebrae and are joined to the vertebrae by thin layers of hyaline cartilage. The anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments also extend through the length of the spinal column and bind the bodies of the vertebrae together.