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Abstract
The subaxial cervical spine can be divided into anterior and posterior columns. The anterior column consists of the typical cervical vertebral body sandwiched between supporting disks. The anterior surface is further reinforced by the anterior longitudinal ligament and the posterior body by the posterior longitudinal ligament. Articulations include the disk-vertebral body, uncovertebral joints, and zygapophyseal joints. The disk is thicker anteriorly, contributing to the normal cervical lordosis, and the uncovertebral joints located in the posterior aspect of the body define the lateral extent of most surgical exposures. The zygapophyseal or facet joints are oriented 45o degrees to the axial plane, allowing a sliding motion. Supporting ligamentum flavum, posterior and interspinous ligaments, also strengthen the posterior column. (1)
In the neuroanatomy of the cervical spine, the cord is enlarged, with lateral extension of the gray matter consisting of the anterior horn cells. Exiting at each vertebral level is the spinal nerve root, which is the result of the union of the anterior and posterior nerve root. Interconnections are present between the sympathetic nervous system and the nerve root proper.