Sources and coverage
What this unit covers, and where
Every reference card and every item of the unit's scope, the concept it carries, and the place where you learn and practise it. Reference material and original practice are labelled separately.
Case map
- Netter 1-12 (PDF p. 31–32)2Atlas and axis: arches and lateral masses of the atlas, dens of the axis, rotation of the head; Jefferson and hangman fracturesPractise in 2 Atlas and axis; 2 knowledge check; unit review
- Netter 2-1 (PDF p. 179–180)1Vertebral column: regions and counts, primary and secondary curvatures, where discs are present, scoliosis, kyphosis and lordosisThe card counts the coccygeal segments as four with the last three fused; see the source notes.Practise in 1 Five regions; 1 Four curves; 1 knowledge check
- Netter 2-2 (PDF p. 181–182)2Cervical vertebrae: body, transverse process and foramen, pedicle, lamina, spinous process; vertebra prominens; cervical disc herniation at C5–C6 and C6–C73 Discs and joints.Practise in 2 Cervical vertebrae; 3 When a disc herniates; unit review
- Netter 2-3 (PDF p. 183–184)2Thoracic vertebrae: vertebral foramen, pedicle, lamina, superior, inferior and transverse costal facets, long spinous process; limited movement1 One plan for every vertebra.Practise in 2 Thoracic vertebrae; 2 knowledge check (costal facets)
- Netter 2-4 (PDF p. 185–186)2Lumbar vertebra: large body, transverse and articular processes; movement; disc herniation at L4–L5 and L5–S1 and the roots compressed3 Discs and joints.Practise in 2 Lumbar vertebrae; 3 When a disc herniates; synthesis case
- Netter 2-5 (PDF p. 187–188)3Lumbar vertebrae assembled: anulus fibrosus, nucleus pulposus, intervertebral foramen and vertebral notches; discs as symphyses; facet joints as plane synovial joints; lordosis of pregnancyPractise in 3 The intervertebral disc; 3 Facet joints; 3 knowledge check
- Netter 2-6 (PDF p. 189–190)3Vertebral ligaments: anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments, ligamentum flavum, interspinous and supraspinous ligaments, and what each limitsTaught in words: ligaments are not part of the model.Practise in 3 The long ligaments; 3 knowledge check; unit review
- Netter 2-7 (PDF p. 191–192)2Sacrum and coccyx: base and promontory, ala, sacral foramina, median sacral crest, sacral hiatus, auricular surface; the coccyxPractise in 2 Sacrum and coccyx; 2 knowledge check
- Netter 3-1 (PDF p. 223–224)4Bony framework of the thorax: true, false and floating ribs, costal cartilages, parts of the sternum, thoracic apertures; rib fractures and flail chestThe card calls the sternocostal joints synchondroses; the unit does not classify them (see the source notes). The clavicle and scapula on the card belong to the upper limb and are not in this unit.Practise in 4 The sternum; 4 True, false and floating ribs; 4 The cage as a whole; 4 knowledge check
- Netter 3-2 (PDF p. 225–226)4Costovertebral joints: which costal facet takes which rib, costotransverse joints for ribs 1 to 10, facet joints2 Thoracic vertebrae.The named ligaments of these joints on the card are not taught in this unit.Practise in 4 The parts of a rib and how it meets the column; 2 Thoracic vertebrae; unit review
- Model: C1 to C7 (7 pieces)2Atlas, axis, C3 to C7 as separate selectable pieces; the dens and the spinous process of C7 as computed pointsPractise in Point to the vertebra; Point to the landmark
- Model: T1 to T12 (12 pieces)2The twelve thoracic vertebrae as separate piecesPractise in Point to the vertebra
- Model: L1 to L5 (5 pieces)2The five lumbar vertebrae as separate piecesPractise in Point to the vertebra
- Model: sacrum (1 piece, includes the coccyx)2Sacrum; the promontory and the coccyx as labelled regions, not scoredNo separate coccyx element exists in the source.Practise in Point to the vertebra
- Model: 23 intervertebral discs3C2–C3 to L5–S1 as separate piecesAnulus and nucleus are not modelled separately.Practise in 3 knowledge check (naming a disc); atlas
- Model: 24 ribs4Ribs 1 to 12, left and right, as separate piecesPractise in Point to the rib; Left or right?
- Model: manubrium, body, xiphoid process (3 pieces)4Parts of the sternum; the jugular notch and sternal angle as computed pointsPractise in Point to the rib or the part of the sternum; Point to the landmark
- Model: costal cartilages 1 to 7, left and right (14 pieces)4Costal cartilages; the seventh piece carries the costal marginThe source has no separate cartilage pieces for ribs 8 to 12.Practise in Left or right?; atlas
Source page map
Which lecture pages feed each section. Page numbers are PDF pages of the supplied files.
- 1Card 2-1: regions, counts and curvatures of the columnNetter p.179–180
- 1Regions of the vertebral column; curvatures; general structure of a vertebraOpenStax 7.3 p.§7.3
- 2Card 1-12: atlas and axisNetter p.31–32
- 2Cards 2-2, 2-3, 2-4: cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebraeNetter p.181–186
- 2Card 2-7: sacrum and coccyxNetter p.191–192
- 2Regional modifications of vertebrae; sacrum and coccyxOpenStax 7.3 p.§7.3
- 3Cards 2-5, 2-6: discs, facet joints, intervertebral foramen, ligamentsNetter p.187–190
- 3Intervertebral discs and ligaments of the vertebral column; herniated discOpenStax 7.3 p.§7.3
- 4Cards 3-1, 3-2: bony framework of the thorax; costovertebral jointsNetter p.223–226
- 4Sternum; ribs, parts of a typical rib, rib classificationsOpenStax 7.4 p.§7.4
- 189 pieces of the specimen: what is separate, what is merged, what is absentBodyParts3D p.model
Sources and notes
Sources
- NetterNetter's Anatomy Flash Cards, 4th ed. (supplied PDF)Study reference for names, positions and contents. Not reproduced; cited by card number and PDF page.
- OpenStax 7.3OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 7.3 The Vertebral Column (CC BY 4.0)Cross-check for regions, curvatures, parts of a vertebra, regional features, discs and ligaments.
- OpenStax 7.4OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 7.4 The Thoracic Cage (CC BY 4.0)Cross-check for the sternum, the parts of a rib and the classes of ribs.
- TA2Terminologia Anatomica, 2nd ed. (FIPAT, 2019)Accepted names and Latin terms.
- BodyParts3DBodyParts3D 4.0, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0The 3D model. What a view shows is checked on the model itself.
Course PDFs are not served by this site. Page numbers refer to the supplied files so you can verify claims. Images labelled “Lecture image” are cropped from those files; “Teaching schematic” marks original drawings.
Source notes: where the sources differ or are ambiguous
- Segments of the coccyx. Source: Netter card 2-1 gives four coccygeal vertebrae with the last three fused, and card 2-7 says the first coccygeal segment is not fused. OpenStax describes the coccyx as formed by the fusion of four small coccygeal vertebrae. Taught here: The coccyx is taught as four small segments at the end of the column. The unit does not ask how many of them are fused. Netter p.179–180, 191–192OpenStax 7.3
- Type of the sternocostal joints. Source: Netter card 3-1 describes the sternocostal joints as synchondroses. OpenStax section 7.4 says only that the costal cartilages attach to the sternum. Taught here: The unit teaches which cartilage joins which part of the sternum and does not classify the sternocostal joints. Their type is left for the planned thoracic wall topic, to be written with a source that treats the first joint and the others separately. Netter p.223–224OpenStax 7.4
- What counts as the thoracic cage. Source: OpenStax defines the thoracic cage as the 12 pairs of ribs with their costal cartilages and the sternum, anchored behind to the thoracic vertebrae. Netter card 3-1 lists the sternum, the ribs and their articulations. Taught here: The cage is taught as the sternum, the ribs and their cartilages, with the twelve thoracic vertebrae as its back wall. A question never depends on whether the vertebrae are counted as part of the cage. OpenStax 7.4Netter p.223–224
Brief in the sources, expanded here as supporting context
- Not on the model, taught in words only: ligaments, the anulus and nucleus of a disc, facet joints as joints, the parts of a single rib (head, neck, tubercle, angle), costal facets, the sacral foramina and hiatus, the transverse foramina. The model shows the bones on which these lie; none of them is a scored target.
- Absent from the source dataset: the spinal cord, spinal nerves and their roots, a separate coccyx, and separate costal cartilages for ribs 8 to 12. Nerve roots appear only in the clinical notes on disc herniation.
- Clinical notes (abnormal curvatures, Jefferson and hangman fractures, disc herniation, rib fractures) are short applications of the anatomy, not accounts of the conditions.
- Not covered: muscles of the back and chest wall, the intercostal spaces and their vessels and nerves, the spinal cord and meninges, the pelvis. These are planned topics.
- Review status: the pieces of the model were identified from the concept name and FMA id carried by each source file, and the text was written and checked against the listed sources by an AI model. No anatomist has reviewed the unit.