Patent ID: 8491643

Claim:
A bone plate system comprising: a bone plate having a first surface, a second bone contacting surface opposed to the first surface, and a plurality of oblong apertures extending through the bone plate, all of the apertures being aligned lengthwise along a centerline of the bone plate such that a midpoint of each aperture is positioned on the centerline of the bone plate; a plurality of bone screws each having a head and a shank extending distally therefrom, the heads of the bone screws being disposable through the plurality of oblong apertures in the bone plate from a location distal to the second bone contacting surface and through the oblong apertures in a proximal direction toward the first surface, and the shanks being capable of insertion into bone to fasten the bone plate to bone; wherein the bone plate is configured to slide along the centerline with respect to the plurality bone screws when the bone screws are disposed through the oblong apertures and fully inserted into bone to secure the bone plate to bone; and wherein each of the bone screws is configured to be secured to the bone plate without an external component to lock the bone screw to the bone plate.