Intervertebral disc T4–T5
Discus intervertebralis
SkeletalSkeletonThorax
- What it is
- Fibrocartilage cushion between the T4 and T5 vertebral bodies: a tough ring (annulus fibrosus) around a gel core (nucleus pulposus).
- Function
- Absorbs shock and lets adjacent vertebrae rock and twist on each other.
- Size
- ≈ 32 × 25 mm, 4 mm thick here (discs make up ~25% of spinal length)
- Clinical note
- Discs lose water with age, which is why people get slightly shorter; a torn annulus lets the nucleus herniate onto a nerve root.