JOINTS OF THE NECK 



359 



vertebral column to its original position after it has been bent 

 in a ventral direction. 



The interspinons ligaments are most strongly developed in 

 the lumbar region, where they fill up the intervals between 

 the adjacent margins of contiguous spinous processes. In 

 the thoracic region, and more so in the neck, they are very 

 weak. 



The supraspinous ligaments are thickened bands which 

 connect the summits of the spinous processes. In the neck 

 they are replaced by the ligamentum nuchae (p. 172). 



Pedicle of 

 vertebra divided 



FIG. 143. The Ligamenta Flava in the Lumbar Region of the Spine. 



The intertransverse ligaments are feebly marked in the 

 cervical region and extend chiefly between the anterior bars 

 of the transverse processes. 



Articulations of the Epistropheus, Atlas, and Occipital 

 Bone. The articulations which exist between these three 

 bones all belong to the diarthrodial class. Between the atlas 

 and epistropheus (O.T. axis) there are three such joints 

 viz., a pair between the opposed articular processes, and a 

 third between the anterior face of the dens and the posterior 

 face of the anterior arch of the atlas. Between the atlas 

 and occipital bone there is a pair of joints viz., between 

 the occipital condyles and the elliptical cavities upon the 

 upper aspects of the lateral masses of the atlas. 



