Patent ID: 7972381

Claim:
An interbody spinal implant for insertion between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine, said implant comprising: a leading end for introduction of said spinal implant into the spine, an opposite trailing end, spaced apart sides therebetween, and a mid-longitudinal axis passing through said leading and trailing ends; opposite upper and lower surfaces between said leading and trailing ends and said spaced apart sides, said upper surface adapted for placement in engagement with the bone of one of the vertebral bodies and said opposite lower surface adapted for placement in engagement with the bone of the other of the vertebral bodies when said implant is placed between the adjacent vertebral bodies; and a plurality of surface projections formed on said upper and lower surfaces of said implant, at least a first and a second of said surface projections each having a maximum height, at least one of said surface projections having a top, a forward facet directed at least in part toward the leading end, a rearward facet directed at least in part toward the trailing end, and opposed side facets converging toward one another between said forward facet and said rearward facet to intersect each other and form a peak at the top of said at least one of said surface projections, said peak of said at least one of said surface projections overlying at least a portion of another of said surface projections, said forward facet and said rearward facet having a length and a slope, the length of said forward facet being longer than the length of said rearward facet, said forward facet and said rearward facet both declining from said maximum height, in a direction toward said leading end, said forward facet having converging sides and a maximum width between said converging sides, said maximum width of said forward facet being greater than said maximum height of said at least one of said surface projections.