vertebra

IPA: vˈɝtʌbrʌ

(anatomy) Any of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent vertebrae and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord.

Examples of "vertebra" in Sentences

Very good explanation of why the vertebra is probably "lost", BTW.
A giant brachiosaurid cervical vertebra from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous) of southern England.
In the photo above, Luis is holding a caudal vertebra from a hadrosaurid that bears a deep score mark across its surface.
In the previous post I introduced the long, tedious, much-delayed technical project on MIWG. 7306, a giant brachiosaurid cervical vertebra from the Isle of Wight.
Alas, the 1060 mm that I gave in those two articles is, while not technically incorrect, not the standardised ‘total length’ of the specimen for, rather than including prezygapophysis length, the standard way of measuring a sauropod vertebra is to stick to centrum length alone.