Patent ID: 7662172

Claim:
A tulip assembly comprising: a pedicle screw having a threaded portion and a head portion; a first device elastically expandable to receive said head portion of said pedicle screw; and a second device having an engagement portion, the engagement portion in contact with said first device to fix the tulip assembly to the head portion of the pedicle screw; at least a portion of the tulip assembly having generally opposing channels for receiving a rod; said at least a portion of said tulip assembly being adapted to receive said rod and rotate about the rod to capture the rod and cause the rod to become locked in the tulip assembly after said engagement portion contacts said first device to fix the tulip assembly to the head portion; each of said generally opposing channels being defined by a first surface and a generally opposing second surface, said first and second surfaces also cooperating to define a first channel portion and a second channel portion that is in communication with said first channel portion, said first channel portion defining a rod-receiving opening that opens upwardly and away from an end of said tulip assembly from which said pedicle screw extends, said first channel portion extending away from said rod-receiving opening and toward said end in a first direction that is generally parallel to an axis of said tulip assembly, said second channel portion extending in a second direction that is not colinear with said first direction and that is not generally parallel to said axis; said first channel portion being adapted to receive said rod after said rod is received in said rod-receiving opening and guide said rod to said second channel portion so that said second channel portion can receive and lock said rod in said tulip assembly in response to said tulip assembly being rotated.