Number of vertebrae

Most people have 7 cervical, 12 thoracic and 5 lumbar type vertebrae. However there are some congenital changes to this where some people can be born with more or less vertebrae. These variances become important for counting the nerve roots if you develop low back, leg or foot pain, and surgery is contemplated.The spaces between the vertebrae called neural foramen are where the nerve roots exit from the spinal cord to the body, and each nerve is specifially named based on 8 cervical, 12 thoracic and 5 lumbar nerve roots.