Patent ID: 7776076

Claim:
A bone plate comprising a monolithic plate body having an upper surface and a lower surface, the monolithic plate body including a first hole extending therethrough from the upper surface to the lower surface, the hole including three regions separated from one another along a length of the first hole, first and third regions of the first hole being non-threaded, and a second middle region of the hole between the first and third regions including threading formed in a portion of the monolithic plate body forming a wall of the second region of the hole, the threaded second region being configured and dimensioned to lock a mating fastener therein along a single, fixed first hole axis wherein the second region is, in a direction from the upper surface to the lower surface, conically tapered inward, wherein the first region has, in a direction from the upper surface to the lower surface, an inward taper that is present around the axis of the hole.