Anatomy of the Spine PowerPoint Diagram

By using the Anatomy of the Spine PowerPoint Diagram, you can clearly label the different parts of the spine in order to make it easier for your students to understand. The Anatomy of the Spine PowerPoint Diagram comes with one PowerPoint slide that is totally customizable, letting you choose how you want to break up the different sections of the spine and show them to your students using color. The different sections of the spine are all broken up with lines, and the lines are labeled in order to make it simpler for your students to take notes.

The Human Spine

The first thing you will notice is that a normal human spine is “S” shaped, meaning that there are three curves which create the appearance of the letter “S”. The shape is quite beneficial because it helps to absorb shock and lower the chance of injuries. However, it is also true that back pain and back ailments are the most common complaint in medicine.

The spine is divided into five separate sections as you can see in the diagram with the three major sections being defined by the curves.

• Cervical: Upper Spine
• Thoracic: Middle Spine
• Lumbar: Lower Spine

At the bottom of the spine are two small sections, the Sacral followed by the Coccyx, which is the vestige of the tailbone found in most primates.

The cervical, thoracic, and lumbar sections keep their shapes based on the strong muscles that are present around the spinal column. Good posture when sitting and walking also helps to keep the alignment proper which reduces the strain on the muscles surrounding the spine. Weakened muscles and excess body weight, especially around the torso, can cause abnormal curves in the spine which least to more serious issues.

Functions

Each major section of the spine has responsibilities in terms of support, being shaped and held up by the surrounding muscle groups to do a specific job.

Cervical: The major role the cervical section of the spine plays is to support the head. The first vertebrae (C1) is connected to the skull and is ring-shaped, while the second (C2) is an axis that allows the head to move about.

Thoracic: This section supports and helps protect the rib cage along with providing protection for the vital organs found in the chest cavity. There is not much range of motion in this part of the spine.

Lumbar: The lower back area is also subject to the most stress since it supports the weight of the body. The vertebrae are larger which allows for stronger muscles to provide support while carrying objects that are heavy or awkward.

The sacrum connects the spine to the hip bone with the vertebrae being fused together. You can find the ring that creates the pelvic girdle here. Finally, the coccyx consists of four fused bones that create the vestige of the tailbone, but also connects muscles and ligaments to the floor of the pelvic area.

To fully explain spine anatomy, having the proper human spine diagram is an excellent place to start. This allows for the visualization of the vertebral column and all its complexities which can be absorbed at once. For those who are teaching about the human spine, having a proper PowerPoint diagram will help immensely to the understanding of how the human spine is structured.