The lamina is a flat, plate-like part of a vertebra, which is placed at the back of this kind og bone, as may sometimes be removed, through an operation referred to as a laminectomy. This kind of surgery will remove at least the lamina, and possibly other sections of the vertebra as well, not due to any health concerns posed by the lamina itself, which do not exist, but for the overall sake of carrying out surgery on the spinal column.

Thoracic Vertebrae

The thoracic vertebrae comprise 12 different bones, all of which are grouped together in what could be termed a middle position between the cervical, uppermost set of vertebrae and the lower lumbar vertebrae bones. The appearance and size of the thoracic vertebrae varies as one scans up or down the spinal column, with any given set of vertebrae bearing a closer similarity to the group closer to it and deviating more from those farther away, so that the size of individual vertebrae increases further downward.

Cervical Vertebrae

The cervical vertebrae are the top section of bones in the spinal column and include 7 individual vertebrae. The very top of the spine is made up by a cervical vertebra referred to as an atlas, while the bone of the spine on the next level down is referred to as the axis. The bottom cervical vertebra is the vertebra prominens. Beyond these top and bottom cervical vertebrae, the bones of this area of the spine share traits in common with each other and are essentially alike.

Lumbar Vertebrae

The lumbar vertebrae is one section of the spinal column as a whole and comprises 5 individual bones. The areas above it are the thoracic and cervical vertebrae, while beneath the lumbar vertebrae region is that of the sacral and coccygeal bones.  Back pain often centers in the lumbar vertebrae.