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However, the cervical spine is comparatively mobile, and some component of this movement is due to flexion and extension of the vertebral column itself. This movement between the atlas and occipital bone is often referred to as the "yes joint", owing to its nature of being able to move the head in an up-and-down fashion.
Diagram showing normal curvature of the vertebrae from childhood to teenage. Excessive or abnormal spinal curvature is classed as a spinal disease or dorsopathy and includes the following abnormal curvatures: Kyphosis is an exaggerated kyphotic (convex) curvature of the thoracic region in the sagittal plane, also called hyperkyphosis.
The spinal cord is an estimated 45 centimetres (18 inches) long in males and about 43 cm (17 in) in females. [citation needed] It is ovoid-shaped and is enlarged in the cervical and lumbar regions. The cervical enlargement, stretching from the C4 to T1 vertebrae, is where sensory input comes from and motor output goes to the arms and trunk.
On the cervical vertebrae other than the atlas, the anterior and posterior tubercles are on either side of the transverse foramen on each transverse process. The anterior tubercle on the sixth cervical vertebra is called the carotid tubercle because it separates the carotid artery from the vertebral artery.
In anatomy, the axis (from Latin axis, "axle") is the second cervical vertebra (C2) of the spine, immediately inferior to the atlas, upon which the head rests. The spinal cord passes through the axis. The defining feature of the axis is its strong bony protrusion known as the dens, which rises from the superior aspect of the bone.
Within these compartments, the neck houses the cervical vertebrae, the cervical portion of the spinal cord, upper parts of the respiratory and digestive tracts, endocrine glands, nerves, arteries and veins. The muscles of the neck, which are separate from the compartments, form the boundaries of the neck triangles. [2]
In anatomy, the atlas (C1) is the most superior (first) cervical vertebra of the spine and is located in the neck.. The bone is named for Atlas of Greek mythology, just as Atlas bore the weight of the heavens, the first cervical vertebra supports the head. [1]
The spinal nerves arise from the spinal column. The top section of the spine is the cervical section, which contains nerves that innervate muscles of the head, neck and thoracic cavity, as well as transmit sensory information to the CNS. The cervical spine section contains seven vertebrae, C-1 through C-7, and eight nerve pairs, C-1 through C-8.