<p>The intravertebral support is introduced between neighbouring vertebrae (2,3). It consists of a spacer piece (4) which has a hole in the centre which allows the growth of natural bone tissue through it. On the front of the spacer are flanges (5,6) which are used to attach it to the vertebrae. The flanges project beyond the ends of the spacer to reduce the surface pressure of the spacer on the spine and have slots (7) in the areas which project over the ends of the spacers. At least one of the flanges has an opening in it to allow the introduction of a substrate element for natural bone tissue into the hole in the spacer.</p>
