CERVICAL VERTEBRAE-AXIS (C2)

SUMMARY

1. Atypical cervical vertebra formed by a body with attached dens, two lateral masses, a posterior neural arch (formed by the pedicle and a thick lamina), and a large spinous process, which is commonly bifid.

ANTERIOR COMPONENTS
2. Dens: conical in shape
3. Body: attachment for longus coli
4. Lateral mass
5. Transverse process with foramina transversarium
6. Superior articular facets
7. Inferior articular facets

POSTERIOR COMPONENTS
8. Pedicle
9. Lamina
10. Spinous process: bifid & has several muscle attachments (semispinalis cervicis, rectus capitis posterior major, inferior oblique)




Image: Case courtesy of Craig Hacking, Radiopaedia.org. From the case rID: 82883.

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.