Articular processes

The articular processes (zygapophyses) of a vertebra, two superior and two inferior, spring from the junctions of the pedicles and laminæ.

• The superior processes project upward from a lower vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less backward.
• The inferior processes project downward from a higher vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less forward and outward.

The articular surfaces are coated with hyaline cartilage.

• Zygapophyseal joint
• Pars interarticularis

• 
  Cervical vertebra
• 
  Median sagittal section of two lumbar vertebræ and their ligaments.

• Template:BiowebUW
• Template:UMichAtlas – “Lumbar Vertebral Column, Posterolateral View”
• Template:SUNYAnatomyFigs – “Superior and lateral views of typical vertebrae.”
• Template:EMedicineDictionary
• Template:WaynesburgAnatomicModel
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it:processo articolare hu:Processus articularis inferior vertebrae

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