Vertebral body
Corpus vertebrae
Definition
The vertebral body of a vertebra is the cylindrical ventral part, under the vertebral foramen.
The upper and lower surfaces of the vertebral body give attachment to the intervertebral discs, by the convex cranial extremity and the concave caudal extremity.
On the ventral part of the body, there is a sagittal crest called the ventral crest. On the dorsal part of the body, there is the vertebral arch (neural arch) completing the vertebral foramen.
References
König HE, Lieibich HG. Veterinary Anatomy of Domestic mammals, 6th edition, Schattauer, Stuttgart, 2014.
