The vertebral column is not actually a column but rather a sort of spiral spring in the form of the letter

S. The newborn ch
has a relatively straight backbone. The development of the curvatures occurs as the supporting functions of the verteb
column in humans—i.e., holding up the trunk, keeping the head erect, serving as an anchor for the extremities—
developed. The S-curvature enables the vertebral column to absorb the shocks of walking on hard surfaces; a straight colu
would conduct the jarring shocks directly from the pelvic girdle to the head. The curvature meets the problem of the weigh
the viscera. In an erect animal with a straight column, the column would be pulled forward by the viscera. Additional sp
for the viscera is provided by the concavities of the thoracic and pelvic regions. Weight distribution of the entire body is a
effected by the S-curvature. The upper sector to a large extent carries the head; the central sector carries the thoracic visce
the organs and structures in the chest; and the lower sector carries the abdominal viscera. If the column were straight,
weight load would increase from the head downward and be relatively great at the base. Lastly, the S-curvature protects
vertebral column from breakage. The doubly bent spring arrangement is far less vulnerable to fracture than would be a strai
column. The protective function of the skeleton is perhaps most conspicuous in relation to the central nervous syste
although it is equally important for the heart and lungs and some other organs. A high degree of protection for the nerv
system is made possible by the relatively small amount of motion and expansion needed by the component parts of this syst
and by certain physiological adaptations relating to circulation, to the cerebrospinal fluid, and to the meninges, the coveri
of the brain and spinal cord. The brain itself is snugly enclosed within the boxlike cranium. Sharing in the protection afford
by the cranium is the pituitary gland, or hypophysis. For the spinal cord, with its tracts of nerve fibres traveling to and fr
the brain, the placement in relation to the spinal column is somewhat like that of a candle in a lantern. Normally, there
considerable space between the nervous and the bony tissue, space occupied by the meninges, by the cerebrospinal fluid, a
by a certain amount of fat and connective tissue. In front are the heavy centrums, or bodies, of the vertebrae and