34 



THE SKELETON 



r 



ligaments which connect it with the occipital bone. The enlarged part of the 

 process is sometimes termed the head, and the constricted basal part the neck. 

 The inferior surface of the body resembles that of the succeeding vertebrae and 

 is concave from front to back and slightly convex from side to side. Its anterior 

 surface is marked by a median ridge separating two lateral depressions for the 

 insertion of the longus colli. 



The roots (pedicles) are stout and broad; the laminae are thick and prismatic; the spinous 

 process is large and strong, deeply concave on its under surface, and markedly bifid; the trans- 

 verse processes are small, not bifurcated and not grooved. The costo-transverse foramen is 

 directed very obliquely upward and laterally and the costal process is larger than the transverse. 



Fig. 38. — The Cervical Vertebrae. (Anterior view.)] 



Anterior tubercle of atlas to which 

 the longus colli is inserted 



Rectus capitis anterior 



The upper oblique 

 portion of longus 

 coUi 



The upper oblique 

 portion of lonfius 

 colli and insertion 

 of inferior oblique 

 portion 



This and the three suc- 

 ceeding processes give 

 origin to the longus 

 capitis and insertion 

 t3 the scalenus an- 

 terior 



Origin of vertical portion of the longus colli ; 

 its insertion is into the second, third, and fourth vertebrae 



The superior articular surfaces arc oval, and directed upward and laterally for articulation 

 with the atlas. They are remarkable in l)eing supported partly by the body, and partly by the 

 pedicles, and in Vjeing situated in front of the sajjerior notches. The inferior articular surfaces 

 are similar in form and position to those of the succeeding vertebra?. 



The axis gives attachment to the following muscles: — ■ 



Body Longus colh. 



Spinous process Obliquus ca[)itis inf(>rior, rectus capitis posterior niajor^ 



scmispinalis cervices, interspinales, multifidus. 

 Transverse process Splcriius ccrvicis, intertransversarii, levator scapulae^ 



longissinuis (transvcnsalis) cervicis, scalenus medius. 



The Seventh Cervical Vertebra 



Situated at the junction of the cervical and thoracic regions of the vertebral 

 column, the seventh cervical vertebra (figs. 38, 39) may be described as a transi- 

 tional vertebra — i. e., possessing certain features characteristic of both regions. 



The spinous process is longer than that of any of the other cervical vertebrae. 

 It is not bifurcated, but ends in a broad tubercle projecting beneath the skin, 



I 



