130 AETHROLOGY. 



Posteriorly the supraspinous ligament is a white fibrous cord, 

 extending from the spine of the sacrum, along the upper margin 

 of the neural spines to the first dorsal vertebrse, where its character 

 becomes so greatly changed that the cervical portion may be, and 

 often is, described as a separate structure — the ligamentum niichce 

 or ligamentum colli (PI. I. / /') ; it is formed of yellow elastic 

 tissue, and remarkable for its strength, elasticity, and insensibility 

 to pain. It consists of a funicular and a lamellar portion ; the 

 former, called also the cord of the ligament, is double, and extends 

 from the first, second, and third dorsal spines to the occipital 

 tuberosity, continuous posteriorly with the. white supraspinous 

 ligament, in which elastic tissue may be traced to some distance. 

 The right and left ligaments meet in the mesian line, and from 

 the postero- inferior aspect springs the lamellar portion, which is 

 flat and triangular, separating the muscles of the neck into right 

 and left. It consists of two plates, joined by cellular tissue ; the 

 lamellae or bands descending from the cord and spinous processes 

 usually of the first three dorsal vertebrae, run obliquely forwards, 

 to be inserted to the superior spines of the six posterior cervical 

 vertebrse, blending with the interspinous ligaments. The lamellce 

 although widely separate, are connected by smaller branches, and 

 also by connective tissue. This ligament being highly elastic, is 

 not a binding ligament, but acts as a passive support to the head 

 and neck, diminishing the muscular tension in the superior cervical 

 region. 



Special Ligaments. 



The special ligaments of a common vertebral articulation are 

 the interspinous, the ligamenta suhfiava, the intertransverse, 

 and the capsular. The interspinous ligaments connect the 

 neural spines, and are continuous with the supraspinous ligament 

 above ; they are composed of yellow elastic tissue in the cervical 

 region, elsewhere of white fibrous tissue. The ligamenta suhfiava, 

 or ligaments of the arches, connect the laminae of the articulating 

 vertebrae ; they may be regarded as bifurcations of the inter- 

 spinous ligaments, and their regional structure varies like that of 

 the latter. The intertransverse ligaments are found between 

 the transverse processes, and are strongest in the lumbar region ; 

 these ligaments are well marked only in the solipede (Fig. 60. a). 

 The capsular ligaments invest the articulations of the oblique 

 processes, forming true synovial joints. 



