Video Transcript
The diagram provided shows the
basic structure of a single vertebra. Which letter indicates where the
spinal cord passes through?
A vertebra has several major
features, including a body, a vertebral foramen, and the processes, or portions of
the bone that stick out. In this case, we are looking at a
lumbar vertebra, and the processes indicated by the Z are the articular
processes. The articular processes help the
lumbar vertebra join closely together and prevent too much movement or rotation that
would weaken the strength of the vertebral column in this very important
weight-bearing region of the column. The body of the vertebra is the
actual weight-bearing portion. The body of each vertebra is
stacked directly on top of the underlying vertebra, creating a strong column that
can, with the help of the muscles, hold the body upright.
The vertebral foramen is a hole
passing through the vertebra. And one vertebral foramen will
likewise be just above the vertebral foramen of the next vertebra, which creates an
interior space all the way down the vertebral column. This is where the spinal cord sits
so that it is well protected by the hard, bony covering provided by the
vertebrae.
So the correct answer to this
question is Y. The space that the spinal cord
passes through is the vertebral foramen, indicated in this diagram by the letter
Y.
