Patent ID: 7556600

Claim:
A human spinal surgical retraction apparatus, comprising: a plurality of blades; a retainer with a straight edge; and a frame with an opening and includes an upper portion, spacers, and segments, wherein a separation distance established by the spacers between the upper portion and the segments allows a selected number of blades to be inserted into the frame, and wherein each of the plurality of blades includes: a coupling arm comprising frame grooves, a sloped surface, and retraction component protrusions, wherein the frame grooves complement a portion of the frame to allow the coupling arm to be moved into or out of the frame; and a retraction component comprising a head and a body, wherein the head of the retraction component includes one or more grooves for releasably coupling the retraction component to the retraction component protrusions of the coupling arm, wherein when the retraction component is coupled to the coupling arm, interaction of the retraction component protrusions of the coupling arm and the one or more grooves of the retraction component inhibits lateral movement and rotation of the retraction component relative to the coupling arm, wherein the body of the retraction component of at least one of the plurality of blades includes a slot through which a surgical instrument is acceptable, wherein the coupling arm further comprises a retainer port and a retainer port edge, wherein the retainer is acceptable by the retainer port of the coupling arm, and wherein when the straight edge of the retainer is aligned with the retainer port edge of the coupling arm, the retraction component is releasable from the coupling arm.