which ensures the spinal linkage member 22 is retained in the groove when the fastener 62 is tightened to firmly lock of the member in place in to the body 30 of the connector 10 although the slot 14 faces laterally in the illustrated embodiment those skilled in the art will appreciate that the slot may have alternative orientations without departing from the scope of the present invention fig5 shows the connector 10 with both spinal linkage members 20 22 seated in the body 30 as will be apparent to those skilled in the art the selectively pivotable nature of the variable angle mechanism 24 allows the spinal linkage members 20 22 to be angled relative to each other further once the connector 10 accepts the spinal linkage members 20 22 the fasteners 42 62 are tightened to lock the connector in position on the members and the members in position relative to one another fig6 illustrates another embodiment of a connector of the present invention generally designated in its entirety by the reference number 70 the connector 70 of the this embodiment includes a body constructed in two pieces 72 74 the first piece 72 includes a closed passage 82 for receiving a first spinal linkage member designated 20 in.