Patent ID: 7303562

Claim:
An apparatus to support the spine, comprising: a longitudinal member, said longitudinal member having at least one flat planar face formed therein that extends over at least part of the length of the longitudinal member; and two bolts, at least one of said bolts including a mounting portion disposed at a first end portion of said bolt and a connector portion disposed at a second end portion of said bolt, said mounting portion having means for engaging a vertebra, said mounting portion having a longitudinal axis, said connector portion having a channel therein that is adapted to receive the longitudinal member, the channel having substantially parallel walls and a longitudinal axial plane, said longitudinal axial plane being substantially parallel to said walls and being oblique to said longitudinal axis of said mounting portion; and a screw having a longitudinal axis and threadably engageable into said connector portion and wherein at least a portion of said screw contacts the longitudinal member when the longitudinal member is placed in the channel of said connector portion, and wherein the channel in said connector portion has a concave bottom with a substantially round cross-section and at least a portion of said longitudinal member has a complementary rounded face to mate with the concave bottom of the channel, and wherein the longitudinal axis of said screw is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axial plane of the channel in said connector portion.