Patent ID: 7186254

Claim:
An apparatus for promoting fusion of a first vertebra and a second vertebra in a spinal column at a graft between the first vertebra and the second vertebra, where the first vertebra and second vertebra are along a long axis forming the spinal column, the apparatus comprising a first plate mountable to the first vertebra comprising at least two edges parallel to the long axis of the vertebrae, and a second plate mountable to the second vertebra comprising at least two edges parallel to the long axis of the vertebrae, wherein the first plate comprises integral means for slidably interconnecting with the second plate at said edges of each plate that are parallel to the long axis of the vertebrae, said sliding occurring parallel to the long axis of the spinal column, said means preventing rotational movement of the first vertebra relative to the second vertebra, and wherein the plates can overlap only at the integral means for slidably interconnecting at said edges of each plate when the plates are slidably interconnected.