Video Transcript
Which of the following is not a
primary function of the vertebral column in humans? (A) Providing structural support
and balance to the body. (B) Protecting the spinal cord. (C) Protecting the heart and the
lungs. Or (D) helping move the head and
the upper body.
This question focuses on the axial
skeleton, which consists of the skull, thoracic or rib cage, and vertebral or spinal
column. To answer this question, we need to
know more about the vertebral column and its functions.
The vertebral column is made of a
stack of vertebrae. And the structure of a single
vertebra varies depending on where in the spinal column it is found. Here are examples of what cervical,
thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae look like. These, and the rest of the
vertebrae, provide sites of attachment for muscles of the back, chest, arms,
abdomen, and legs. Cartilage separates each vertebra
as they are stacked on top of each other and helps to create the flexible structure
that supports the body, allows us to move our heads and necks, and helps us to
balance.
As the question is asking us for an
option that is not a primary function of the vertebral column in humans, we can
therefore eliminate options (A) and (D), as both of these options describe functions
of the vertebral column.
The hole in the middle of each
vertebra, called a vertebral foramen, is what houses the spinal cord. This tells us another primary
function of the vertebral column, which is to protect the spinal cord. So answer option (B) can also not
be the correct choice.
The option that remains is (C),
which does not describe a primary function of the vertebral column, but instead a
function of the thoracic or rib cage.
Therefore, the correct answer to
this question, and the option which is not a primary function of the vertebral
column in humans, is (C), protecting the heart and the lungs.
