CERVICAL VERTEBRAE-AXIS (C2), LIGAMENTOUS ATTACHMENTS

SUMMARY

ANTERIOR TO POSTERIOR

1. Anterior Longitudinal Ligament (ALL): attached to the front of the body of C2

2. Anterior atlanto-occipital membrane

3. Apical (attaches from the apex of the dens to the anterior margin of the foramen magnum, remnant of the notochord) & alar ligaments (attaches to either side of the apical ligament at the apex of the dens to the foramen magnum)

4. Longitudinal (and transverse) bands of the cruciate ligament: attached to the back of the body of C2

5. Spinal dura mater: firmly attached to the tectorial membrane which continues as the PLL over the back of the body of C2

6. Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (PLL): extends from the back of the body of C2

7. Tectorial membrane & and atlanto-axial ligament: attaches from the anterior margin of the foramen magnum to the back of the body of C2; continuous with the PLL; firmly attached to the spinal dura, which acts as a ligament across the atlantal joint (the only part of the dura to do so)

8. Posterior atlanto-occipital membrane

9. Ligamentum flavum: attached to the lamina

10. Ligamentum nuchae: attached to the spinous process



Image: Some of the ligamentous & membranous attachments have been detailed above (numbers do not correspond to the descriptions above). By Dr. Appukutty Manickam.

Reference(s)

R.M.H McMinn (1998). Last’s anatomy: regional and applied. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Get it on Amazon.
Drake, Richard L., et al. Gray's Anatomy for Students. Elsevier, 2023. Get it on Amazon.