Biology 122 Spring, 2008

LABORATORY OBJECTIVES

Laboratory 1

Vertebral Column and Superficial Musculature of the Back

At the end of this laboratory you should:

1. Know the regional names applied to the vertebrae and the number of vertebrae that typically occur in each region. Know the basic distinctions between the different regional types of vertebrae. Be able to identify isolated vertebrae according to region.

2. Be able to name and identify the basic parts of a vertebra and understand the representation of these parts in radiographs. The parts to be identified are the: 1) body; 2) neural arch; 3) lamina; 4) transverse process; 5) spinous process; 6) pedicle; 7) superior and inferior articular processes and facets; 8) intervertebral notch (foramen); and 9) vertebral foramen (canal).

3. Understand how the different parts of adjacent vertebrae are interconnected via the ligaments.

4. Understand the structure of the intervertebral disk (nucleus pulposus and annular ligament) and know the functions of disks in establishing the overall height of an individual, the curvatures of the spine and their role as shock absorbers and in the motion of the spine.

5. Know superficial muscles of the back, their attachments, functions and innervations.

6. Know the organization of the intermediate muscle group (erector spinae) and the names and distributions of the muscles that comprises this group. Understand the functions of these muscles and the segmental innervation by the posterior rami of the spinal nerves.

7. Be able, on a living subject and on your cadaver, to identify the position of the following specific vertebrae or their parts:

a) spinous processes of C7 (vertebra prominens)

b) T4

c) L4

d) S2

e) tip of the coccyx.

PRELABORATORY PREPARATION

Read the introductory chapters in the Moore & Dalley (M&D) textbook (pp. 1-12) dealing with general concepts of anatomy, and chapters discussing the tissues and systems of the body (the skin, the connective tissues, the skeletal system and the muscular system; pp. 12-38). For the first two labs, read the chapter on the regional anatomy of the back and vertebral column (pp. 475-516); for the first lab, concentrate descriptions of the vertebral column, superficial extrinsic muscles of the back (pp. 753-760) and superficial and intermediate intrinsic muscles of the back (pp. 534-537). Also read the introduction to medical imaging techniques (pp 67-72), including the medical imaging of the back (pp. 547-553).