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Cervical vertebrae (Vertebrae cervicales) are the smallest of the true vertebrae, and can be readily distinguished from those of the thoracic or lumbar regions by the presence of a foramen (hole) in each transverse process. The first, second, and seventh cervical vertebrae present exceptional features and must be separately described, though the other four have common characteristics. A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ...
A typical thoracic vertebra The thoracic vertebrae (vertebrae thoracales) compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. ...
Categories: Anatomy stubs | Anatomy ...
General characteristics
Side view of a typical cervical vertebra These are the general characteristics of the third through sixth cervical vertebrae. The first, second, and seventh vertebrae are extraordinary, and detailed later.
The body of these four vertebrae is small, and broader from side to side than from front to back. The anterior and posterior surfaces are flattened and of equal depth; the former is placed on a lower level than the latter, and its inferior border is prolonged downward, so as to overlap the upper and forepart of the vertebra below. The upper surface is concave transversely, and presents a projecting lip on either side; the lower surface is concave from front to back, convex from side to side, and presents laterally shallow concavities which receive the corresponding projecting lips of the underlying vertebra.
The pedicles are directed laterally and backward, and are attached to the body midway between its upper and lower borders, so that the superior vertebral notch is as deep as the inferior, but it is, at the same time, narrower. The laminae are narrow, and thinner above than below; the vertebral foramen is large, and of a triangular form. The spinous process is short and bifid, the two divisions being often of unequal size. The superior and inferior articular processes on either side are fused to form an articular pillar, which projects laterally from the junction of the pedicle and lamina. The articular facets are flat and of an oval form: the superior look backward, upward, and slightly medially; the inferior forward, downward, and slightly laterally.
The transverse processes are each pierced by the foramen transversarium, which, in the upper six vertebrae, gives passage to the vertebral artery and vein, as well as a plexus of sympathetic nerves. Each process consists of an anterior and a posterior part. The anterior portion is the homologue of the rib in the thoracic region, and is therefore named the costal process or costal element. It arises from the side of the body, is directed laterally in front of the foramen, and ends in a tubercle, the anterior tubercle. The posterior part, the true transverse process, springs from the vertebral arch behind the foramen, and is directed forward and laterally; it ends in a flattened vertical tubercle, the posterior tubercle. These two parts are joined, outside the foramen, by a bar of bone which exhibits a deep sulcus on its upper surface for the passage of the corresponding spinal nerve. The vertebral arteries are branches of the subclavian arteries. ...
Anatomy and Physiology of the A.N.S. In contrast to the voluntary nervous system, the involuntary or autonomic nervous system is responsible for homeostasis, maintaining a relatively constant internal environment by controlling such involuntary functions as digestion, respiration, and metabolism, and by modulating blood pressure. ...
This article is about the bones called ribs. ...
Diagram of a tsetse fly, showing the head, thorax and abdomen The thorax is a division of an animals body, that lies between the head and the abdomen. ...
The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. ...
First cervical vertebra (Atlas) Note: For more information, see Atlas (anatomy) First cervical vertebra, or Atlas In anatomy, the Atlas (C1) is the topmost (first) cervical vertebra of the spine. ...
The first cervical vertebra is named for the Atlas of mythology, because it supports the globe of the head. The Atlas is the topmost vertebra, and – along with the Axis – forms the joint connecting the skull and spine. Its chief peculiarity is that it has no body, and this is due to the fact that the body of the atlas has fused with that of the next vertebra. In Greek mythology, Atlas was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene, and brother of Prometheus. ...
Mythology is the study of myths: stories of a particular culture that it believes to be true and that feature a specific religious or belief system. ...
For other uses of the word head, see head (disambiguation). ...
In anatomy, the second cervical vertebra (C2) of the spine is named the axis or epistropheus. ...
A Hippopotamuss skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of vertebrates which serves as the general framework for a head. ...
Spine is a word with several meanings. ...
Second cervical vertebra (Axis) Note: For more information, see Axis (anatomy) In anatomy, the second cervical vertebra (C2) of the spine is named the axis or epistropheus. ...
The second cervical vertebra (C2) of the spine is named the axis or epistropheus. It forms the pivot upon which the first cervical vertebra (the Atlas), which carries the head, rotates. The most distinctive characteristic of this bone is the strong odontoid process which rises perpendicularly from the upper surface of the body. The body is deeper in front than behind, and prolonged downward anteriorly so as to overlap the upper and front part of the third vertebra. A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ...
The vertebral column seen from the side The vertebral column (backbone or spine) is a column of vertebrae situated in the dorsal aspect of the abdomen. ...
A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ...
First cervical vertebra, or Atlas In anatomy, the Atlas (C1) is the topmost (first) cervical vertebra of the spine. ...
For other uses of the word head, see head (disambiguation). ...
Grays illustration of a human femur, a typically recognized bone. ...
Seventh cervical vertebra Seventh cervical vertebra The most distinctive characteristic of this vertebra is the existence of a long and prominent spinous process, hence the name vertebra prominens. This process is thick, nearly horizontal in direction, not bifurcated, but terminating in a tubercle to which the lower end of the ligamentum nuchae is attached. The transverse processes are of considerable size, their posterior roots are large and prominent, while the anterior are small and faintly marked; the upper surface of each has usually a shallow sulcus for the eighth spinal nerve, and its extremity seldom presents more than a trace of bifurcation. The foramen transversarium may be as large as that in the other cervical vertebrae, but is generally smaller on one or both sides; occasionally it is double, sometimes it is absent. On the left side it occasionally gives passage to the vertebral artery; more frequently the vertebral vein traverses it on both sides; but the usual arrangement is for both artery and vein to pass in front of the transverse process, and not through the foramen. Sometimes the anterior root of the transverse process attains a large size and exists as a separate bone, which is known as a cervical rib. The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. ...
The vertebral arteries are branches of the subclavian arteries. ...
Section of an artery An artery or arterial is also a class of highway. ...
In geology, a vein is a regularly shaped and lengthy occurrence of an ore; a lode. ...
References - Gray's Anatomy (http://www.bartleby.com/107/): The Cervical vertebrae (http://www.bartleby.com/107/21.html) - The 1917 Gray's Anatomy is available via the Bartleby project. It is available with full colour diagrams, and provides an excellent starting point in anatomy, as well as a relatively complete source for gross anatomy. This article is copied and pasted from the 1917 Gray's Anatomy, which is in the public domain.
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