Difference between spine and lumbar spine

Many people do not understand the difference between the spine and the lumbar spine. In fact, the human spine is divided into about 33 parts. These 33 parts have different distributions, including the lumbar spine, thoracic spine and cervical spine. The lumbar spine and spine are completely different. The lumbar spine is part of the spine, but when the disease occurs, it will cause the local area to be implicated and affected.

The human spine is composed of 33 vertebrae (7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, and 9 sacrum and coccyx) connected by ligaments, joints and intervertebral discs.

The upper end of the spine supports the skull, is connected to the hip bones at the lower end, is attached to the ribs in the middle, and serves as the posterior wall of the thorax, abdominal cavity, and pelvic cavity. The spine has the functions of supporting the trunk, protecting the internal organs, protecting the spinal cord and performing movements. A longitudinal spinal canal is formed inside the spine from top to bottom, which contains the spinal cord (Note: the spine is not equal to the vertebrae or vertebrae, the spine is composed of N vertebrae).

Lumbar vertebrae: The vertebral body is relatively large; the spinous processes extend horizontally and plate-like to the back, and the gaps between adjacent spinous processes are wide, which can be used for lumbar puncture; the articular process articular surfaces are in the sagittal position. The human body has five lumbar vertebrae, each of which consists of a vertebral body in the front and an attachment in the back.

The inner edge of the vertebral lamina is arch-shaped, and the vertebral arch and the posterior edge of the vertebral body form a vertebral foramen. The upper and lower vertebral foramina are connected to form the vertebral canal, through which the spinal cord and nerves pass. The joint between the two vertebral bodies is the intervertebral disc. It consists of two parts: the annulus fibrosus and the nucleus pulposus. The nucleus pulposus is located in the center of the intervertebral disc. It is a water-rich, jelly-like elastic protein.

Surrounding the nucleus pulposus is the annulus fibrosus, which connects the two vertebrae together and firmly fixes the nucleus pulposus in the center.