How many vertebrae are in the spinal (vertebral) column?

The spinal column, also known as the vertebral column, consists of a total of 26 vertebrae in a typical adult human. These are distributed across five distinct regions: the cervical region contains 7 vertebrae, the thoracic region has 12 vertebrae, the lumbar region comprises 5 vertebrae, and there are 5 fused vertebrae in the sacral region forming the sacrum, along with 4 fused vertebrae in the coccygeal region forming the coccyx. While the sacral and coccygeal vertebrae are fused segments, they are still considered a part of the total count of vertebrae in the spinal column.

In contexts involving the total number of vertebrae, sometimes varying counts may appear due to anatomical differences, but the widely accepted total for the individual, distinct vertebrae is 24, excluding the fused vertebrae, while the total count comprising all sections, including fused vertebrae, sums up to 26.