Superior view, thoracic vertebrae

Superior view, lumbar vertebrae

The transverse process projects laterally from the junction of the lamina and the pedicle on each side of the vertebrae.  The transverse process serves as a point of attachment for muscles that help move the vertebrae as well as ligaments that stabilize the vertebral column.  Each area has characteristic shapes for this structure.  In the cervical region the transverse process has a transverse foramen (see associated pictures).  The thoracic vertebrae have transverse processes that tend to project obliquely both posteriorly and laterally making a "V" shape when viewed from the superior or inferior side.  The lumbar vertebrae have transverse processes that project laterally.  In fact the long piece of bone in a "T bone" steak is the transverse process of the lumbar vertebra.  If that piece were the spinous process it would have been called an "S bone" steak.  Hmm.