Development of the spine

The Spine is formed in the embryonic period from the somites, which are partly adjacent to the chorda dorsalis - the sclerotomies. Sclerotomy surrounds the chord and the medullary tube and differentiates into individual parts of the spine - vertebrae and intervertebral plates. During development, the material of the vertebral somites moves towards the myotomes that form the basis of the muscles. For this reason, muscles go from one vertebra to another and not from one end of a vertebra to the end of the same vertebra. This allows the movement of the spine. Then there is a shift of the developing vertebra by half a segment as a result of the division into cranial and caudal parts. Another shift of half a segment is created by the enlargement of the cranial part and its transformation into a vertebral body. The cranial part pushes the caudal part, which gives rise to the intervertebral disc. The nucelus pulposus of the intervertebral disc is formed from the chorda dorsalis.

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