For Providers -- Atlas of Human Anatomy

The first cervical vertebra, Atlas, seen from above and behind and from below.

Translated by: Ronald A. Bergman, PhD and Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

 

The bones of the trunk with the left scapula, seen from the front. Image of the bones of the trunk

a) Anterior arch of the atlas (attachment site for rectus capitis anterior minor, anterior atlanto-occipital ligament).
b) Posterior arch.
c) Lateral mass.
d) Posterior tubercle of the atlas (origin of rectus capitis posterior minor).
e) Fovea dentis atlantis.
f) Condyloid fossa of the superior oblique process (formed by the condyle of the occipital bone; a hinge joint).
g) Transverse atlantic process (attachment site for mm rectus capitis lateralis, superior and inferior capitis oblique).
h) Vertebral foramen (transverse foramen) (vertebral canal for the vertebral artery.
i) Groove for the vertebral artery.
k) Lateral tubercle for ligamentum transversum. (lig. Cruciforme atlantis).
l) Vertebral foramen or canal.
m) Anterior atlantic tubercle (attachment for m. longus colli, and anterior longitudinal ligament).
n) Superficial articular site for the axis.

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