Patent ID: 7927360

Claim:
An anchor assembly for securing an elongate connecting member along the spinal column, comprising: a distal anchor for engaging bony structure and an extended receiver extending proximally from said anchor, said extended receiver including a distal implantation portion adjacent said anchor, said implantation portion being sized and shaped to receive the connecting member therein, said extended receiver further including a guide portion extending proximally from said implantation portion along a central axis, wherein said implantation portion includes opposite side members and said guide portion includes opposite arms defining a channel therebetween and said opposite arms each include a distal end formed as a single unit with a proximal end of a respective one of said side members at a break-off region, said break-off region providing a separation location for separation of said arms from said respective side member upon application of a threshold force to said arms, said separation location providing a recessed surface in an inner side of each of said arms and said respective side member that interrupts an internal thread profile extending along said inner side of each of said arms and said respective side member, wherein said recessed surface forms a groove extending into said inner side of said respective arm that extends outwardly from a major diameter of said internal thread profile thereof so that the extension of said groove in said inner side of said arm is greater than the major diameter of said internal thread of said arm and said respective side member.