The cervical vertebrae
Vertebrae cervicales
The seven bones of the neck. The first two carry the head; the other five are told apart by their spines and by what their transverse processes do.
- Region
- Neck
- Members
- 7
- With a page
- 2
How they differ along the set
What changes from one end of the series to the other, which is most of what there is to know about any one of them.
- Seven.Reighard & Jennings 1901, the vertebral column
- The third has a small spine and only a slight tubercle on its transverse process.Reighard & Jennings 1901, the vertebral column
- The fourth has a spine pointing straight up, and a short thick tubercle on its transverse process that is not split into three.Reighard & Jennings 1901, the vertebral column
- The fifth has a spine pointing forwards, and a more slender, spine-like tubercle.Reighard & Jennings 1901, the vertebral column
- The sixth is known by its transverse process, which is split into three.Reighard & Jennings 1901, the vertebral column
- The seventh has a long spine and a slender, simple transverse process, and usually no transverse foramen: the ventral root that would close it is usually missing.Reighard & Jennings 1901, the vertebral column
The members
In order along the set. Any one of them can be singled out in the model above, with the picker beneath it. The ones that are taught by name have a page of their own.
- Atlas (C1)AtlasHas a page
- Axis (C2)AxisHas a page
- Cervical vertebra 3Vertebra cervicalis III
- Cervical vertebra 4Vertebra cervicalis IV
- Cervical vertebra 5Vertebra cervicalis V
- Cervical vertebra 6Vertebra cervicalis VI
- Cervical vertebra 7Vertebra cervicalis VII