Patent ID: 7407513

Claim:
An artificial spinal disk comprising: a first bone plate comprising a plurality of segments configured to attach to a first vertebral body; a second bone plate comprising a plurality of segments configured to attach to a second vertebral body; a central capsule comprising: a first central capsule plate configured to attach to said first bone plate and having an inwardly directed surface; a second central capsule plate configured to attach to the second bone plate and having an inwardly directed surface facing generally toward said inwardly directed surface of said first central capsule plate; and a pair of coupled sliding disks with outwardly directed opposed faces that slidably mate with respective ones of said inwardly directed surfaces of said first and second central capsule plates, wherein each of said sliding disks has an opening therethrough and is attached to a respective one of said central capsule plates with a retainer disk, said retainer disk being attached to a post coupled to said respective central capsule plate, said post extending through said opening, and said retainer disk having a surface larger than said opening in the sliding disk to capture said sliding disk between said retainer disk and said inwardly directed surface of said central capsule plate such that said sliding disk slides along and between spaced apart surfaces of said retainer disk and said central capsule plate.