Cervical Disc Injuries(Archived)

The spinal cord is a nervous tissue bundle from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region, and the vertebral column protects it. The vertebral column consists of seven cervical, 12 thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral, and three to five coccygeal vertebrae. The cervical vertebrae are numbered C1 to C7 from the base of the skull to the thoracic vertebrae. The structure of C1, C2, and C7 have distinctive properties compared to C3 to C6. The anatomy of C3 to C6 consists of a central body, the pedicles anteriorly, lamina posteriorly completing a ring around the spinal cord. Motion is mainly posteriorly at the superior and inferior articular processes with the vertebral artery, vein, and sympathetic plexus running through anterior foramen transversarium of the transverse process. C1 (atlas) connects the skull and spine mainly by ligamentous attachments. It has no body due to fusion with axis (C2) vertebrae which acts as a pivot for the atlas to rotate. The most distinctive feature of C2 vertebrae is the strong odontoid process (dens) that rises perpendicularly from the upper surface of the body. The body is deeper in front than behind, and prolonged downward anteriorly, so there is an overlap of the upper and front part of the third vertebra. C7 has a distinctive long and prominent spinous process, which is palpable from the skin surface. The transverse processes are larger in size. The upper surface of each has a shallow sulcus for the eighth cervical nerve. A cervical disc separates each cervical vertebrae. The composition is of inner nucleus pulposus of mucoprotein gel and outer annulus fibrosus. This composition allows for flexibility and mobility of the cervical spine. There is increased the risk of injury in cervical spine compared to the more fixed thoracic spine.