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- Use of this artwork requires proper credit to be given (Permission: Dr. Joe Muscolino. www.learnmuscles.com)
Disc joint of the spine.
- The disc joint has two main components:
- outer annulus fibrosus
- inner nucleus pulposus
- The disc joint is located anteriorly in the midline, between vertebral bodies.
- A disc joint is an amphiarthrotic, cartilaginous joint, with the bodies of the vertebrae united by fibrocartilage.
- The annuls fibrosus consists of 10-20 concentric layers of fibrocartilage, arranged in a basket-weave configuration.
Notes:
- There is no disc joint at the atlanto-axial (C1-C2) joint level and at the atlanto-occipital (C1-C0) joint level… because the atlas (C1) has no body, and disc joints are located between bodies of vertebrae.
- This cross-section view nicely demonstrates the outer cortical compact bone and the inner spongy (cancellous) trabecular bone.