Patent ID: 6969390

Claim:
A plating system, comprising: an anterior cervical plate adapted to be applied to the anterior human cervical spine, said plate having a lower surface adapted to contact the anterior aspect of at least one cervical vertebral body and an upper surface opposite said lower surface, at least one bone screw receiving hole extending from said upper surface through said lower surface, said bone screw receiving hole being adapted to receive at least one bone screw for engaging the cervical vertebral body to attach said plate to the cervical spine; and a bone screw adapted to attach said plate to the cervical vertebral body, said bone screw comprising: a leading end for insertion into the cervical vertebral body, a trailing end opposite said leading end, and a mid-longitudinal axis; a head adapted to block further forward motion of said screw through said bone screw receiving hole of said plate, said head being configured not to substantially protrude beyond said bone screw receiving hole when installed in said plate, said head having an upper portion and a lower portion, each of said upper and lower portions having an upper facing surface oriented at least in part toward said trailing end of said screw, said upper portion being configured to cooperatively engage a driver instrument adapted to insert said screw into the vertebral body, said upper and lower portions of said head each having a cross sectional dimension transverse to the mid-longitudinal axis of said screw, said cross sectional dimension of said upper portion being less than said cross sectional dimension of said lower portion, said upper facing surface of said lower portion of said head being at least in part in a plane that crosses the mid-longitudinal axis of said screw, said lower portion of said head having a bottom surface oriented toward said leading end of said screw that contacts said plate; a tip at said leading end of said screw; a shaft between said tip and said head, said shaft having a root diameter, said shaft having a first shaft portion proximate said tip and a second shaft portion proximate said head, the root diameter of said first shaft portion being less than the root diameter of said second shaft portion; and a thread along at least a portion of said shaft, said thread adapted to engage the bone of the cervical vertebral body.