Fifth thoracic vertebra at a glance
- Also called
- T5
- What it is
- The fifth of the twelve thoracic vertebrae, labelled T5, which articulate with ribs.
- Location
- Lies in the middle thoracic spine between T4 and T6.
- Function
- Supports the trunk, forms the posterior part of the rib cage by articulating with ribs, and protects the spinal cord.
- Body system
- Skeletal · single, midline structure
- FMA ID
- FMA9922 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Typical thoracic vertebra with costal demifacets on the body and a costal facet on each transverse process.
- The middle thoracic spinous processes (about T5–T8) are the longest and overlap the vertebra below like roof tiles.
- The descending aorta lies on the left side of the bodies from about T5 down.
Structures next to the fifth thoracic vertebra
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Intervertebral disk of fifth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Intervertebral disk of fourth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Sixth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Fourth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Intervertebral disk of sixth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Thoracic rotator · muscular
- Intervertebral disk of third thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Rhomboid major · muscular
- Semispinalis thoracis · muscular
- Third thoracic vertebra · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Fifth thoracic vertebra (FMA9922). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
- Rib cageRib cage anatomy: 12 pairs of ribs, true, false and floating ribs, parts of a rib, sternum and jugular notch, costal…
- Skeletal systemExplore a realistic 3D human skeleton: the 206 bones, axial vs appendicular skeleton, bone types, bony landmarks and…
- Vertebral columnHuman spine anatomy: cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, curvatures, discs, facet joints and spinal ligaments…
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.