Expansion
Costal facets on the body and transverse process, with long downward-sloping spinous processes
Expansion
Distinguishing features:
- Costal demifacets on the sides of the body, superior and inferior, for the rib heads
- Transverse costal facets, for the rib tubercles
- Heart-shaped body
- Small circular vertebral foramen
- Long spinous process angled steeply downwards
The paired demifacets are the giveaway: the head of a typical rib spans the disc and articulates with the vertebra of its own number and the one above.
The narrow vertebral canal and the relatively poor blood supply of the mid-thoracic cord combine to make this the region where cord compression is least well tolerated.