SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES FOR CONTROLLING SPINAL MOTION SEGMENTS WITH POSITIONING OF SPINAL STATBILIZATION ELEMENTS

摘要

Elongated connecting elements (10) include bodies having anisotropic cross sectional shapes defining a first moment of inertia about a first bending axis (15) and a second moment of inertia about a second bending axis (16) that is transverse to the first bending axis (15). The connecting elements (10) are positioned along one or more spinal motion segments and engaged to vertebrae with anchors (100) with the first and second bending axes (15, 16) in the desired orientation relative to the spinal motion segments.