Vertebral Column

Skeleton of the Pig

The vertebral formula is C7T14–15L6–7S4Cy20–23.

The cervical vertebræ are short and wide. The bodies are elliptical in cross-section, the long diameter being transverse. The anterior articular surfaces are slightly convex from side to side and concave dorso-ventrally; the posterior ones are slightly concave. A ventral crest is not present. The arches are wide from side to side, but the laminæ are narrow, so that a considerable interval (Spatium interarcuale) separates adjacent arches dorsally. The pedicles are perforated by a foramen on either side in addition to the usual intervertebral foramina. The transverse processes divide into two branches, both of which increase in size from the third to the sixth. The upper branch projects outward and backward; it is short and is thickened at its free end. The lower branch is a quadrilateral plate directed ventrally; each overlaps the succeeding one to a small extent, and the series forms the lateral boundary of a deep and wide groove beneath the bodies. The spines increase in height from the third to the last; the anterior ones are inclined backward, the posterior ones forward. The last cervical is recognized by the great length of its spine (ca. 10 cm. in the adult), the absence of the ventral plate of the transverse process, and the flatness of the body, which bears a pair of small facets on its posterior margin for the heads of the first ribs. It has foramina transversaria, and usually two foramina in either side of the arch.

The dorsal arch of the atlas bears a large tuberosity. The ventral tubercle is long, compressed laterally, and projects back under the axis. The wing is flattened and bears a posterior tuberosity. The foramen transversarium passes through the posterior border of the wing to the fossa under the latter, and is not visible dorsally; it is sometimes very small or absent. The sides of the vertebral foramen bear two lateral projections which partially divide it into a ventral narrow part, which receives the odontoid process, and a dorsal larger part for the spinal cord. In the fresh state the division is completed by the transverse ligament, which is attached to the projections.

The axis has a large spinous process, which is directed upward and backward. The odontoid process is a thick cylindrical rod. The transverse process is very small and the foramen transversarium is often incomplete.

The thoracic vertebræ are often fifteen in number. Their bodies are relatively long, constricted in the middle, and without ventral crests. Their extremities are elliptical, depressed in the middle and prominent at the periphery. The arch is perforated by a foramen on either side, and in most of the series there is also a foramen in the posterior part of the root of the transverse process which communicates with the former or with the posterior intervertebral foramen. Sometimes there is a foramen in the anterior part of the process also. There are mammillary processes except on the first two; in the posterior five or six vertebræ they project from the anterior articular processes. The facet for the tubercle of the rib is absent or fused with that for the head in the last five or six. The last transverse process is lumbar in character, plate-like, and about an inch (2 cm.) long. Small accessory processes occur in the posterior part of the region. The first spinous process is broad, very high, and inclined a little forward. The others diminish very gradually in length to the tenth, beyond which they are about equal. The second to the ninth are inclined backward, the tenth is vertical (anticlinal), and the rest incline forward. The width decreases decidedly from the fourth to the tenth, beyond which there is a gradual increase. The summits are slightly enlarged and lie almost in a straight line.

The occurrence of fifteen thoracic vertebræ appears to be quite common, and some observers have recorded the existence of sixteen and even seventeen; a reduction to thirteen is rare.

The lumbar vertebræ are six or seven in number. The bodies are longer than in the thoracic region and bear a ventral crest. They become wider and flatter in the posterior part of the series. The arches are deeply notched, and are separated by an increasing space dorsally. The mammillary processes project outward and backward. The transverse processes are bent downward and incline a little forward. Their length increases to the fifth and is much diminished in the last. They form no articulation with each other or with the sacrum. The posterior edge of the root of the process is marked by a notch in the anterior part of the series, a foramen in the posterior part. The spines are broad and incline forward, with the exception of the last, which is narrow and vertical.

Lesbre states that six and seven lumbar vertebræ occur with almost equal frequency. The number may be reduced to five, and the number of presacral vertebræ varies from twenty-six to twenty-nine.

The sacrum consists usually of four vertebræ, which fuse later and less completely than in the other domesticated animals. It is less curved than in the ox. The spines are absent, excepting small rudiments on the last two segments. The middle of the dorsal surface is flattened and smooth, and presents openings into the sacral canal between adjacent arches (Spatia interarcualia). On either side are the superior sacral foramina, and tubercles which indicate the fused articular processes. The wings resemble those of the ox. The anterior articular processes are very large. The pelvic surface resembles that of the ox, but is not so strongly curved, and the transverse lines are very distinct.

The coccygeal vertebræ are specially characterized by the presence of functional articular processes on the first four or five, beyond which these processes become non-articular and smaller. The arches of the first five or six are complete. The transverse processes are broad and plate-like in the anterior part of the series and diminish very gradually.

The numerical variation here is twenty to twenty-six according to the observation of several anatomists. Lesbre states that he has found twenty-three most frequently.

Curves.—The cervical region is practically straight. The thoracic and lumbar regions form a gentle curve, concave ventrally, the highest point of which is at the junction of the two regions. The sacral promontory is not so pronounced as in the ox, and the sacral curve is flatter.

The Ribs

The ribs number fourteen or fifteen pairs, of which seven are sternal and seven or eight asternal usually. They are in general strongly curved in the improved breeds, so that there is a fairly distinct angle, except toward the end of the series. The backward slope of the posterior ribs is slight. The first rib is prismatic, has a large sternal end, and a very short cartilage. The width is greatest in the third to the sixth, and the length in the sixth and seventh usually. The tuberosity fuses with the head on the last five or six. The second to the fifth form diarthrodial joints with their cartilages, which are wide and plate-like.