Patent ID: 6926718

Claim:
A plate system adapted for application to the anterior human cervical spine and for contacting at least a portion of the anterior aspects of at least two cervical vertebral bodies, said plate system comprising: a plate having a lower surface being concave along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said plate having an arc of radius between 15 cm to 30 cm and being concave along an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of said plate having an arc of radius between 15 cm to 25 mm, said lower surface being adapted to contact the cervical vertebral bodies; an upper surface opposite said lower surface; and at least one bone screw receiving hole extending through said plate from said upper surface through said lower surface on each side of the longitudinal axis of said plate, each of said bone screw receiving holes being adapted to receive a bone screw having a longitudinal axis so that the longitudinal axis of each bone screw intersects with a plane extending from said lower surface of said plate along the longitudinal axis of said plate; and a lock for locking at least two bone screws inserted in said bone screw receiving holes, said lock being adapted to couple to said plate to retain at least two bone screws to said plate.