Patent ID: 7766915

Claim:
In a medical implant assembly having at least two bone attachment structures cooperating with a longitudinal connecting member, the improvement wherein the longitudinal connecting member comprises: a) an inner cylindrical core with an axis and a discrete attachment location; b) an outer coil-like member attachable to the cylindrical core at the attachment location, the cylindrical core receivable in the coil-like member along a substantial length thereof, the outer coil-like member being in sliding engagement with the cylindrical core in both a direction along the axis and torsionally when the core is fixed to the coil-like member at the core attachment location and the outer coil-like member is clamped to at least one of the bone attachment structures; and c) first and second compression members disposed in at least one of the bone attachment structures, each compression member having an inner surface sized and shaped for frictional engagement with the outer coil-like member, the first and second compression members cooperating to clamp only the outer coil-like member to the bone attachment structure, the outer coil-like member remaining slidable with respect to the inner core.