the cervical spine has the important job of supporting the skull and allowing us to move our head to direct our vision the cervical spine also protects the spinal cord the connection between our brain and the rest of our body two common anatomic terms are useful as they relate to the cervical spine the term anterior refers to the front of the neck the term posterior ior refers to the back of the neck the human spine is made up of 24 spinal Bones called vertebrae vertebrae are stacked on top of one another to form the spinal column the spinal column is the body's main upright support seven vertebra make up the cervical spine often referred to as C1 to C7 the top vertebrae C1 connects to the bottom of the skull the cervical spine curves slightly Inward and ends where C7 joins the top of the thoracic spine the base of the skull sits on top of C1 also called The Atlas two thick bony arches form a large hole through the center of the atlas this opening is large because the spinal cord is wider where it first exits the brain and skull the atlas has two relatively large bony projections on each side the atlas sits on top of the C2 vertebra also called the axis the axis has a large bony knob on top called the dens the dens points up and fits through a hole in the atlas this specialized connection between the axis and the atlas gives the neck most of its ability to turn to the left and right each vertebrae throughout the spine is made of the same Parts the main section of each cervical vertebrae from C2 to C7 is formed by a round block of bone called the vertebral body a bone ring attaches to the back of the vertebral body this ring is formed by two pedicles that connect to the back of the vertebral body and two lamina that join the picles to complete the ring when the vertebrae are stacked on top of each other the bone Rings form a hollow tube that surrounds the spinal cord the inside of this holot tube is called the spinal canal the bone rings provide a protective roof over the spinal cord a bony knob projects posteriorly at the same point where the two lamina bones joined together at the back of the spine these projections called spinus processes can be felt as you rub your fingers up and down the back of your spine each vertebrae in the spine has two bony knobs that point out to the side one on the left and one on the right these bony projections are called transverse processes unlike the rest of the spine the cervical vertebra have an opening that passes down through each transverse process this opening called the transverse framan provides a passageway for arteries that run up each side of the neck to supply the back of the brain with blood between each pair of vertebrae are two joints called facet joints the surface of the facet joint is covered by articular cartilage articular cartilage is a smooth rough y material that covers the ends of most joints it allows the ends of the bones to move against each other smoothly with minimal friction these joints connect the vertebrae together and slide against one another to allow the neck to move in many directions except for the very top of the cervical spine each cervical vertebrae has two facet joints on each side the facet joints on top connect to the vertebra above the ones below join the vertebrae below when the vertebras stack on top of one another an opening is formed on each side of the spine called a neural foramin a nerve root leaves the spinal cord through this opening one on the left and one on the right the spinal cord travels through the spinal canal the holot tube of bone created by the Stacked vertebrae the spinal cord is made up of millions of nerve fibers two large nerves called nerve Roots Branch off the spinal cord at each level where two vertebrae come together one on on the left and one on the right these nerve Roots Branch into the nerves that travel into the upper extremities upper body and to certain organs ligaments are strong connective tissues that attach bones to other bones several long ligaments connect on the front and back sections of the vertebrae the anterior longitudinal ligament runs lengthwise down the front of the vertebral bodies the posterior longitudinal ligament attaches on the back of the vertebral bodies the ligamentum flavum is a long elastic band that connects to the front surface of each of the lamina bones each set of facet joints is also surrounded by a joint capsule that is made up of ligaments a special structure in the spine called an intervertebral disc sits between each pair of vertebrae an intervertebral disc is made of two parts in the center of each intervertebral disc is a spongy material called the nucleus pulposis the nucleus pulposis provides most of the shock absorption in the spine the nucleus is surrounded by the annulus a series of strong ligamentous rings that attach to the vertebrae above and below the intravertebral dis the anterior cervical area is covered with muscles that run from the rib cage and collar bone to the cervical vertebrae jaw and skull the posterior cervical muscles cover the the bones along the back of the spine and make up the bulk of the tissues on the back of the neck a good way to understand the anatomy of the cervical spine is by looking at a single spinal segment a spinal segment includes two vertebra separated by an invertebral dis the nerves that leave the spinal cord between each pair of vertebrae and the small facet joints that link each level of the spinal column the intervertebral disc separates the two vertebral bodies of the spinal segment the facet joints and invertebral disc work together to allow bending and rotating of the cervical spine the facet joints slide while the disc works like a flexible connection between the two vertebrae it is probably quite clear that the cervical spine is a complex machine with an important job to do understanding the structure and function of the cervical spine can help you better understand how problems in the neck can cause pain and dysfunction enabling you to become more involved in your health care and better able to care for your neck problem