The Anatomy Of The Inferior Costal Facet Of The Thoracic Vertebra

Description

Framed on a mid-thoracic segment of the spine, the animation isolates the inferior costal facet (facies costalis inferior), the small demi-facet on the inferolateral margin of the thoracic vertebral body. As the camera rotates and tightens focus, you track its position inferior to the superior costal facet and anterior to the vertebral canal, while the pedicle and transverse process sit posterolateral to the body. An opposing rib head comes into register, clarifying how the facet’s articular surface faces laterally and slightly anteriorly to meet the costovertebral joint. Subtle sequential reveals distinguish the vertebral body from the endplate rim and adjacent cortical contours. That junction matters when you are teaching or planning around thoracic pain generators: the inferior demi-facet forms one half of the costovertebral articulation with the rib head, a site implicated in costovertebral osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthropathy, and post-traumatic rib dysfunction. Motion helps here because the spatial problem is three-dimensional, the relationship between the rib head and two adjacent vertebral bodies, plus the intervertebral disc, is easier to grasp when the articulation is assembled stepwise rather than inferred from a single still. Small surface. Real clinical consequences. Use this sequence in gross anatomy and musculoskeletal anatomy courses to differentiate thoracic vertebrae from cervical and lumbar levels, and in radiology or spine education when correlating the costovertebral region on CT, MRI, or oblique thoracic radiographs where demi-facets can be subtle. It also supports surgical and pain-medicine teaching when orienting trainees to landmarks near the vertebral body for thoracic approaches and targeted injections around the costovertebral joint. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.