Patent ID: 7691148

Claim:
An interbody spinal fusion implant for insertion across the surgically corrected height of a disc space between two adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine, said implant comprising: a leading end for insertion first into the disc space, a trailing end opposite said leading end, and a length between said ends; opposed upper and lower portions adapted to contact the adjacent vertebral bodies when implanted in the spine, said opposed upper and lower portions of said implant each including at least one opening having a complete perimeter, each of said openings being in communication with one another for permitting for the growth of bone from vertebral body to vertebral body through said implant; and non-threaded bone engaging projections for engaging said implant to the adjacent vertebral bodies, said bone engaging projections extending from at least a portion of said opposed upper and lower portions, at least two of said bone engaging projections each having a forward facet directed at least in part toward said leading end, each of said forward facets having a slope, the slope of at least one of said forward facets being different from the slope of another of said forward facets of said at least two bone engaging projections, wherein said at least one of said forward facets includes one of said openings, the complete perimeter of said one of said openings being formed within the perimeter of said at least one of said forward facing facets.