Craniovertebral joint

Craniovertebral junction

Craniovertebral joints

The craniovertebral articulation is a special type of articulation comprising 3 separate functional units which, together with the respective ligaments, allow the skull to be attached to the spine and its movements to a considerable extent. It consists of the ``art. atlantooccipitalis, art. atlantoaxialis mediana and lateralis.

• art. atlantooccipitalis' - this is a paired elliptical joint between the condyles of the occipital bone (head) and the facies articularis superior of the atlas (socket). This joint allows anteroposterior rocking movements and small lateral movements;
• art. atlantoaxialis mediana' - unpaired articulation of the dens axis (head) and the foveola dentis of the atlas (pit). This joint allows exclusively rotational movements of the skull with the atlas around the dens, as if around a pivot (hence the Czech equivalent for axis = pivot), the articulation is supplemented by several important ligaments (ligg. alaria, lig. transversum atlantis, lig. apicis dentis, membrana tectoria);
• art. atlantoaxialis lateralis' - paired articulation between processus articulares atlantis et axis.

The craniovertebral junction is covered in front by the ``membrana atlantooccipitalis anterior and behind by a similar ``membrana atlantooccipitalis posterior.

References

• CIHÁK, Radomír. Anatomy 1. 2nd edition. Grada, 2001. 497 pp. ISBN 80-7169-970-5.