Spinal disc prosthetic devices are provided having up to
six-degrees-of-freedom with three rotational and three translational
degrees-of-freedom within the entire workspace of a Functional Spinal
Unit (FSU). Certain embodiments of the prosthetic disc mechanisms attach
to upper and lower plates anchored between vertebrae of an FSU allowing
modularity of the devices. Scaling, conjoined mechanical programmability
allow the devices to realize almost any nominal required spinal
articulation, from the cervical to lumbar regions.