Abstract
The vertebral column is divided into regions and consists of 32–35 vertebrae, separated from each other by intervertebral discs. Functionally, the vertebrae form a single structure designed to maintain an upright posture and balance countering gravity, enabling locomotion and every other kinetic movement against applied force and resistance. Therefore, the two basic requirements of the spine are rigidity, for static efficiency and protection of the spinal cord and spinal nerves, and flexibility, for the kinematics of the spine.
Vertebrae forming the different parts of the spine have joints that allow diverse spine movements, such as rotation, inclination, flexion and extension of the head.
The cervical spine is mainly innervated by the cervical plexus. The cervical plexus is composed of the anastomosis of ventral branches of the first four cervical nerves and by an anastomotic branch of fifth one, forming the ansa cervicalis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Paturet G. Traité d’Anatomie Humaine. Paris: Masson; 1951.
Lanz Wachsmuth W. Anatomia pratica. Padova: Piccin; 1978.
Poirier P, Charpy A. Traité d’Anatomie Humaine. Paris: Masson; 1912.
Platzer W. Atlas of topographical anatomy. Stuttgart: Thieme; 1985.
Testut L, Jacob O. Trattato di Anatomia Topografica con applicazioni Medico-Chirurgiche. Torino: UTET; 1968.
Rouvière H. Anatomie Humaine. Descriptive Topographique et Functionelle. Paris: Masson; 1974.
Joannes W, Yocochi RC, Elke L-D. Atlante a Colori di Anatomia. Padova: Piccin; 2003.
Standring S Gray’s Anatomy. The Anatomical Bases of Clinical Practice. London: Elsevier; 2008.
Pozzi Mucchi R. Trattato italiano di tomografia computerizzata. Napoli: Gnocchi; 1997.
Svakhine N, Ebert DS, Stredney D. Illustration motifs for effective medical volume illustration. IEEE Comput Graph Appl. 2005;25:31–9.
Peri G, Cappello F, Palma A, et al. Development of software in the study of carotid artery in the neck. Ital J Anat Embryol. 2001;106:273–82.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to Prof. Giovanni Peri’s group for providing an overview and some insights of this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Barone, R., Bucchieri, F., Spinoso, G., Camarda, L., Cappello, F. (2022). Anatomy of the Cervical Spine. In: Menchetti, P.P.M. (eds) Cervical Spine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94829-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94829-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-94828-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-94829-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)