Patent ID: 7094238

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a plate member for providing stability to vertebrae, said plate member having a first end and a second end, a slot at said first end, and an aperture at said second end; a plurality of attachment members connected to said plate member, said attachment members each having at least one hole for receiving a portion of a bone anchoring member and each adapted far contact with a vertebra; a first post connected to a first of said attachment members and extending through said slot in said plate member and a second post connected to a second of said attachment members and extending through said aperture in said plate member; and a first locking means for mating with said first post and locking together said attachment member connected to said first post and said plate member, and a second locking means for mating with said second post and locking together said attachment member connected to said second post and said plate member, wherein said plate member includes a roughened area proximate to said aperture, and one of said attachment members includes a roughened area, and said roughened areas included one or more radial splines.