Anatomy of the Cervical Vertebrae

Articular pillar (lateral mass)

A short column of bone between the superior and inferior articular processes that is more supportive than the similar area in the rest of the spinal column

Anterior tubercle

A small protuberance on the anterior arch of C1

Atlas

Another name for C1

Axis

Another name for C2

Cervical (superior and Inferior) articular process

Are located behind the transverse process at the junction of the pedicle and lamina and directly lateral to the vertebral foramen over and under the articular pillars

C1

Cervical vertebra that least resembles a typical vertebra because it has no body but simply a thick arch of bone

C3 - C6

Cervical vertebrae that are considered the typical cervical vertebrae

C1 and C2

Cervical vertebrae that are unusual and are described separately from the rest of the cervical vertebrae

Size

Characteristic of cervical vertebrae and their bodies that will increase with progression down to the seventh cervical vertebra

Posteriorly

Direction in which the spinous process of C2 extends with its bifid tip

Transverse atlantal ligament

Holds the dens of C2 in place on C1. C

Posterior tubercle

Is typically found on the outside of the posterior arch

Occipitoatlantal joints

Joints formed between the right and left occipital condyles of the skull and the superior facets of C1

Inferior to the lamina

Location of the inferior articular processes of C2

Below and lateral to the superior articular process

Location of the transverse processes and the transverse foramina of C2

At right angles

Location of the zygapophyseal joints of the cervical vertebrae 2-7 from the midsagittal plane

45 degrees to the midsagittal plane and 15 degrees inferior

Locations of the intervertebral foramina of the cervical foramen

Three

Number of foramina that run vertically through each of the cervical vertebrae, two transverse foramina and a single vertebral foramen

Between C1 and C2

Place where rotation of the head primarily occurs with the dens acting as a pivot

Pedicle and body

Places from which the smaller transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae arise

LPO

Position in which the right intervertebral foramina are best seen. On posterior obliques the side up is of interest.

Lateral

Position/ projection in which the zygapophyseal joints of the cervical spine are best visualized

Superior articular processes

Right and left sides of C1 that present large depressed surfaces called superior facets

Posterior arch

Structure of C1 that takes the place of the two laminae and the spinous process found in typical vertebrae

Bifid tip

Structure on the end of the short spinous process of a typical cervical vertebrae

Lateral masses

Structures of C1 that are the articular pillars, the segments if bone between the superior and inferior articular processes. They support the weight of the head and assist in rotation of the head so they are the most bulky and solid parts of C1

Intervertebral foramina

Structures of cervical vertebrae that can be identified by the pedicle which form their superior and inferior boundaries

Vertebral artery and veins and certain nerves

Structures that pass through the transverse foramina of the cervical vertebrae

Small and oblong with the anterior edge slightly more inferior

The appearance of a typical cervical vertebral body which causes slight overlapping of the vertebral bodies

Atlantoaxial joints

The articulations between C1 and C2 that are symmetric

Transverse foramen

The hole in the transverse processes on each side of a typical cervical vertebra

Superior facet

The large depressed surface on the superior articular processes of C1 that articulates with the left and right occipital condyles of the skull

Dens (odontoid process)

The most distinctive feature of C2 that is a conical process which projects from the superior surface of the body of C2

Perfectly symmetric

The necessary appearance of the relationship between the dens and C1 for their to be an assumption of no injury

Vertebra prominens

The seventh cervical vertebra that has many features if thoracic vertebrae, including an extra long and more horizontal spinous process that can be palpated at the base of the neck

Smaller

The size of the transverse processes of C1 compared to the transverse processes of the other cervical vertebrae

Anterior arch

The thick arch of bone instead of the vertebral body on C1

Transverse foramina, bifid spinous tips, and overlapping vertebral bodies

The unique characteristics of the cervical vertebrae

Cervical vertebrae

Vertebrae that show little resemblance to the lumbar or thoracic vertebrae, which are more typical in appearance