Patent ID: 8430914

Claim:
An assembly for connecting a support element to a bone, the assembly comprising: a bone screw having a head at one end of a threaded shaft, the head having substantially planar surfaces; a clamp comprising: a base at a first end of the clamp delimiting an opening for receiving the head of the bone screw; and at least two side members extending from the base towards a second end of the clamp; an insert member for insertion between the at least two side members and configured to engage the head of the bone screw such that the bone screw can rotate relative to the insert member only about an axis perpendicular to a plane defined by the substantially planar surfaces of the head of the bone screw; and a shoulder member for insertion between the at least two side members, the shoulder member having a first surface for abutting the insert member and a second surface for at least partially receiving a support element, the first surface of the shoulder member abutting the insert member to define a bearing surface allowing relative movement of the insert member to the shoulder member; wherein the head of the bone screw and the clamp are configured to allow the head of the bone screw to be inserted into the base from the direction of the first end at a first orientation of the base to the bone screw, and to retain an inserted bone screw within the base at a second orientation of the base relative to the bone screw.