Patent ID: 6989031

Claim:
An interbody spinal implant made of conical bone for insertion at least in part into an implantation space formed across the height of a disc space between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine, the vertebral bodies having an anterior aspect and a posterior aspect, said implant comprising: a leading end for insertion first into the disc space, a trailing end opposite said leading end, said implant having a length along a mid-longitudinal axis of said implant from said leading end to said trailing end; opposed upper and lower portions between said leading and trailing ends adapted to be placed at least in part within and across the height of the disc space to contact and support the adjacent vertebral bodies, said upper and lower portions being non-arcuate along at least a portion of the length of said implant; an interior facing side, an exterior facing side opposite said interior side, and a maximum width therebetween, said maximum width of said implant being less than approximately one-half of the width of the adjacent vertebral bodies into which said implant is adapted to be inserted, said Interior and exterior sides connecting said upper and lower portions and said leading and trailing ends, said leading end having a generally straight portion from side to side, a portion of said exterior side being in a plane generally parallel to the mid-longitudinal axis, said portion of said exterior side intersecting said generally straight portion of said leading end and forming a corner with said generally straight portion of said leading end, said interior side adapted to be oriented toward an interior side of another implant when inserted within the disc space; said trailing end being adapted to conform from side to side to at least a portion of the peripheral contour of at least one of the anterior and posterior aspects of the vertebral bodies adjacent a disc space into which said implant is inserted; said implant being manufactured from a bone ring obtained from a major long bone of a human having a medullary canal, said interior side of said implant including at least a portion of the medullary canal so that when said implant is placed side by side another implant having an interior side including at least a portion of a medullary canal a passage is formed adapted to hold bone growth promoting material for permitting for the growth of bone from vertebral body to vertebral body through said passage.