Patent ID: 8771318

Claim:
A pedicle screw assembly comprising: a bone fastener having a lower end for engaging bone and an upper end remote from the lower end; a head having a rod-receiving channel attached to the upper end of said bone fastener; a spinal rod insertable into the rod-receiving channel of said head, said spinal rod having a cylindrical outer surface extending between first and second ends thereof, a curve between the first and second ends thereof and the cylindrical outer surface has at least one alignment marker for identifying an axis of curvature of said spinal rod, wherein at least one of the first and second ends has a continuous reduced-diameter outer surface throughout, wherein the continuous reduced-diameter outer surface defines a reduced-diameter that is less than a diameter of the cylindrical outer surface extending between the first and second ends, and wherein at least a portion of the continuous reduced-diameter outer surface is cylindrical.