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Human back
Details
Identifiers
Latin	dorsum humanum
TA	A01.1.00.018
FMA	14181
Anatomical terminology []

The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest. The vertebral column runs the length of the back and creates a central area of recession. The breadth of the back is created by the shoulders at the top and the pelvis at the bottom.

Back pain is a common medical condition, generally benign in origin.

The central feature of the human back is the vertebral column, specifically the length from the top of the thoracic vertebrae to the bottom of the lumbar vertebrae, which houses the spinal cord in its spinal canal, and which generally has some curvature that gives shape to the back. The ribcage extends from the spine at the top of the back (with the top of the ribcage corresponding to the T1 vertebra), more than halfway down the length of the back, leaving an area with less protection between the bottom of the ribcage and the hips. The width of the back at the top is defined by the scapula, the broad, flat bones of the shoulders.

View of the bones of the thorax and shoulders from behind.

The spine is bordered by several groups of muscles, including the intertransversarii muscles, which facilitate movement between the individual vertebrae, and the multifidus spinae, which facilitate the movement of the spine as a whole.

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