Question

The vertebral formula for human beings is

• A. $C_5{T}_{12}{L}_7{S}_5{C}_{3-5}=33-35$
• B. $C_7{T}_{12}{L}_5{S}_5{C}_4=33$
• C. $C_5{T}_{10}{L}_5{S}_5{C}_{3-5}=33$
• D. $C_7{T}_{10}{L}_5{S}_5{C}_{3-5}=33$

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

$C_7{T}_{12}{L}_5{S}_5{C}_4=33$

The vertebral column is a part of axial skeleton and is also called spine or backbone.It protects the spinal chord by covering it. The human vertebral column is made up of 33 vertebrae, out of which, the upper 24 vertebrae are articulating and are separated from each other by inter-vertebral discs and the lower nine are fused in adults, 5 of them are in sacrum and 4 are in the tailbone.

The articulating vertebrae are named according to the region in which they are present. There are 5 regions and are named, Cervical spine, Thoracic spine, Lumbar spine, sacrum and coccyx. In humans, there are seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae, five lumbar vertebrae. The vertebrae in sacrum and coccyx are fused and are unable to move independently, there are 5 sacral and 4 caudal vertebrae making it a total of 33 vertebrae in human spinal column.

Vertebral formula indicates the number of vertebrae present in each segment of the vertebral column.

So, the right answer is option B.