ABSTRACT
The vertebral body is cylindrical. Its superior and inferior margins are referred to as endplates. These endplates are slightly concave in all directions. They are composed of two parts:
• A central part layered with cartilage and riddled with small apertures that play an essential role in the nutrition of the disk
• A peripheral part, white in color, that forms an annular pad into which the annulus fibrosus of the disk is inserted.
