The diagram below shows the five main components of the spine: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, and the coccyx.
1. The cervical spine begins at the base of the skull and contains
seven vertebrae with eight pair of cervical nerves. The main purposes
of the cervical spine is to protect the spinal cord, support the skull, and
enable movement of the head.
2. The thoracic spine is located just below the cervical spine. It starts at
the chest and ends at the pelvic area. It contains twelve vertabrae. The
thoracic spine connects to the rib cage and protects most of the vital organs.
3. The lumbar spine is the most commonly injured part of the back. The
lumbar spine is typically made up of five vertabrae, and they are significantly
larger then the othe vertabrae because they support majority of the body's
weight.
4. The sacrum is made of five fused vertabrae. It works with the lumbar spine
to help support weight and leads to the coccyx.
5. The coccyx is the terminal part of the spine and is typically made up of four/ five
fused vertabrae.
