Anatomy of a dinosaur—Clarification of vertebrae in vertebrate anatomy
Bruce M. Rothschild, Robert A. DePalma, David A. Burnham, Larry D. Martin
Abstract
The flat-end surfaces of dinosaur vertebral centra led to the presumption that intervertebral discs occupied the space between their vertebrae. A set of fused hadrosaur vertebrae allowed that hypothesis to be tested. The Tyrannosaurus rex responsible for this pathology did not escape unscathed. It left behind a tooth crown that had fractured. Fragments of that tooth were scattered through the intervertebral space, evidencing that there was no solid structure to impede its movement. That eliminates the possibility of an intervertebral disc and instead proves the presence of an articular space, similar to that in modern reptiles, but at variance to what is noted in birds. While avian cervical vertebral centra appear to be separated by diarthrodial joints, the preponderance of their thoracic vertebral centra is not separated by synovial joints.