Patent ID: 8287576

Claim:
A screw assembly comprising: an inner housing and an outwardly disposed, slidably engaged outer housing, each of said inner and outer housing having a coincidentally aligned connecting rod slot that is sized and configured to circumscribe and hold at least a portion of a connecting rod, wherein said outer housing is capable of a sliding upward movement over said inner housing, said upward movement exerting a compressing force on said internally disposed inner housing to affect a locking action of said connection rod slot, wherein the outer housing is movable relative to the inner housing such that the inner and outer housings define a plurality of positions including an unlocked position, a partially locked position, and a locked position; a bone screw having a screw head and a screw shaft, said screw head engaged within a screw head recess defined in said inner housing, the screw head and screw head recess each sized and configured such that the screw head and screw head recess may rotate about a longitudinal axis defined by the screw shaft, but are restricted from polyaxial articulation; and a connecting rod disposable in the connecting rod slot, wherein when the inner and outer housings define the partially locked position, the bone screw is axially fixed and the connecting rod is repositionable in the connecting rod slot.