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Third thoracic vertebra: anatomy, location and function

The third of the twelve thoracic vertebrae, labelled T3, which articulate with ribs. Supports the trunk, forms the posterior part of the rib cage by articulating with ribs, and protects the spinal cord.

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Highlighted in the model: Third thoracic vertebra. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Third thoracic vertebra at a glance

Also called
T3
What it is
The third of the twelve thoracic vertebrae, labelled T3, which articulate with ribs.
Location
Lies in the upper thoracic spine between T2 and T4.
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
FMA9209 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • The root of the scapular spine lies at about the level of T3.
  • It has demifacets above and below for the heads of ribs 3 and 4, and transverse costal facets for the tubercle of rib 3.

Structures next to the third thoracic vertebra

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Third thoracic vertebra (FMA9209). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. 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

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.