Lumbar vertebra with its anatomical structures in horizontal section, view from above: A vertebra of the spine (vertebral column) consists of the vertebral body, the lateral and the posterior spinous processes. These form the spinal canal (canalis vertebralis) in which the spinal cord (medulla spinalis, bright yellow center) is located. The spinal nerves, ramus anterior and ramus posterior, originate from here. Located ventral and dorsal of the spinal cord are longitudinal ligaments (in this illustration they are not very well visible, but instead fat is visible).
