zygapophysis

Paired processes at the cephalic and caudal ends of the neural arch. They function as interlocking structures between adjacent vertebrae, and limit dorsoventral flexion and lateral movement of the column in the trunk region[AAO]. The articular processes or zygapophyses of a vertebra, in human anatomy contain two superior and two inferior, spring from the junctions of the pedicles and laminae. These stick out of an end of a vertebra to lock with a zygapophysis on the next vertebra, to make the backbone more stable. The superior processes project upward from a lower vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less backward. The inferior processes project downward from a higher vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less forward and outward. The articular surfaces are coated with hyaline cartilage. Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the zygapophysis is

Paired processes at the cephalic and caudal ends of the neural arch. They function as interlocking structures between adjacent vertebrae, and limit dorsoventral flexion and lateral movement of the column in the trunk region[AAO]. The articular processes or zygapophyses of a vertebra, in human anatomy contain two superior and two inferior, spring from the junctions of the pedicles and laminae. These stick out of an end of a vertebra to lock with a zygapophysis on the next vertebra, to make the backbone more stable. The superior processes project upward from a lower vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less backward. The inferior processes project downward from a higher vertebra, and their articular surfaces are directed more or less forward and outward. The articular surfaces are coated with hyaline cartilage. The atlas records it as a bone at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the zygapophysis is

It sits within the skeletal system. Not positioned individually, and containment is not asserted either. Drawn near structures of the same kind, which is a weak claim about location.

What the zygapophysis connects to

The atlas records 5 typed relationships for it, across 3 kinds of connection. part of material anatomical entity.

Supply and innervation

This dataset asserts no arterial supply, venous drainage or innervation for the zygapophysis. Only a minority of structures carry those edges here, so an empty answer means nothing has been recorded — not that there is nothing to record.

Also called

Also recorded as articular process, articular process of vertebra, processus articularis (zygapophysis), zygapophysis, intercalarium articulating process and p. articularis vertebrae, and 1 more. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0006062, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

Questions

Where is the zygapophysis?

It sits within the skeletal system. Not positioned individually, and containment is not asserted either. Drawn near structures of the same kind, which is a weak claim about location.

What does the zygapophysis connect to?

Part of: material anatomical entity.

Is the zygapophysis the same in other species?

Leumas holds the same relationship vocabulary for every species it carries, so where another dataset records this structure you can put the two side by side on /compare.