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Vertebral column (spine) in 3D

Beta

Explore every vertebra from the atlas to the sacrum, with the intervertebral disks, grouped under the textbook headings.

Beta

Interactive 3D atlas

Loads about 9 MB of 3D data the first time. Works best on a laptop or a recent phone.

Study the vertebral column in 3D

Explore every vertebra from the atlas to the sacrum, with the intervertebral disks, grouped under the textbook headings.

Turn and zoom

Drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom, and tap any part to see its name and explanation.

Labels and standard views

Switch labels on or off and jump to front, back, side, top and bottom views, with an orientation cube.

Section cuts

Cut through the structure in transverse, coronal or sagittal planes and slide the cut through it.

Explode and see-through

Pull the parts apart, or make the outer layers faint to see what is inside.

Guided tour

Follow the "Bone by bone" tour one step at a time, or press Play and let the camera fly to each part.

Parts in this model

48 named parts, each with the FMA identifier the dataset gives it. Tap a group in the app to show or hide it.

  • Cervical Vertebrae7
  • Thoracic Vertebrae12
  • Lumbar Vertebrae5
  • Sacrum and Coccyx1
  • Intervertebral Disc23

Guided tour: Bone by bone (5 steps)

Each step highlights the parts it talks about. The sentence is quoted word for word from OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e.

  1. 1. Cervical Vertebrae

    Cervical vertebrae have a small body, reflecting the fact that they carry the least amount of body weight.
    OpenStax, 7.3 Cervical Vertebrae

  2. 2. Thoracic Vertebrae

    The characteristic feature for a typical midthoracic vertebra is the spinous process, which is long and has a pronounced downward angle that causes it to overlap the next inferior vertebra.
    OpenStax, 7.3 Thoracic Vertebrae

  3. 3. Lumbar Vertebrae

    They have short transverse processes and a short, blunt spinous process that projects posteriorly.
    OpenStax, 7.3 Lumbar Vertebrae

  4. 4. Sacrum and Coccyx

    It is formed by the fusion of five sacral vertebrae, a process that does not begin until after the age of 20.
    OpenStax, 7.3 Sacrum and Coccyx

  5. 5. Intervertebral Disc

    Each disc is anchored to the bodies of its adjacent vertebrae, thus strongly uniting these.
    OpenStax, 7.3 Intervertebral Disc

What this model does not show

The dataset has no coccyx mesh in the male body. The sacrum appears both here and in the pelvis workstation.

Where the data or the textbook has a gap, the atlas says so instead of filling it in.

Keep exploring

Questions

What can I see in the vertebral column model?

The model has 48 named parts in 5 groups: Cervical Vertebrae, Thoracic Vertebrae, Lumbar Vertebrae, Sacrum and Coccyx, Intervertebral Disc.

What is the "Bone by bone" tour?

It is a guided tour of 5 steps. Each step highlights the parts it describes and shows a sentence quoted from OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e. Press Play to let the camera fly to each step for you.

What is missing from the vertebral column model?

The dataset has no coccyx mesh in the male body. The sacrum appears both here and in the pelvis workstation.

Where does the information come from?

The 3D shapes come from the BodyParts3D dataset (and, for the female pelvic region, the Human Reference Atlas). Every explanation is a sentence quoted word for word from the open textbook OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, with a link to its section.

Can I use it to diagnose or treat anything?

No. The atlas is for learning only. It is a beta version and has not yet been reviewed by an anatomy educator.

Credits and disclaimer

For learning only, not for diagnosis or treatment. This is a beta version and it has not yet been reviewed by an anatomy educator.

BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International. Text quoted from OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology 2e, © Rice University, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Female pelvic region from the Human Reference Atlas (HuBMAP), CC BY 4.0.

This tool is free, non-commercial and made for education. It has no ads and no paid features.

All sources and licences