288 TllE SKELETON OE THE RABBIT. 



ii. The post-zygapophyses, or posterior articular 

 processes, project backwards from the top of 

 the hinder end of the neural arch. The articu- 

 lar surfaces are slightly convex, and face out- 

 wards and downwards. 



i. The anapophyses are a pair of small backwardly 

 directed processes from the hinder end of the 

 neural arch, below the post-zygapophyses and 

 above the intervertebral notches. 



2. The cervical vertebrse. 



These are seven in number in the rabbit, as in 

 almost all other mammals. As a group they are 

 characterised by the shortness of their centra ; the 

 small size of their spinous processes ; and the fusion 

 of the ribs with the vertebr® to form the perforated 

 transverse processes, through which the vertebral 

 arteries run. 



a. The first, or atlas vertebra, differs very markedly 

 from all the others ; its more important characters 

 are as follows. 



i. The neural canal is very large, and is divided into 

 two parts by a transverse ligament, which is 

 often preserved in the dried skeleton : of 

 these, the upper and larger is the true neural 

 canal, giving passage to the spinal cord ; while 

 the lower and smaller one lodges the odontoid 

 process of the second vertebra. 



ii. The centrum is probably represented by the 

 odontoid process, which has become detached 

 from the atlas, and fused with the centrum 

 of the second vertebra. The mid-ventral 

 portion of the atlas is very narrow, and is 

 produced backwards into a short process. 



iii. The neural spine is an inconspicuous ridge, 

 most prominent in front. 



iv. The transverse processes are broad horizontal 



