Anatomy
Strong pedicles project posteriorly from either side of the back of the vertebral body, joining strong laminae which themselves meet at the midline (from where a spinous process projects back and down) to complete the neural arch (enclosing the vertebral foramen, bigger than thoracic, smaller than cervical).
Where pedicle meets lamina each side, a long thin transverse process, to which muscles and ligaments attach, projects out (and a well-defined superior articular process up and well-defined inferior articular process down). Adjacent laminae above and below are connected by the ligamenta flava.
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