A spinal nerve is a mixed nerve, which carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. In the human body there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column. These are grouped into the corresponding cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal regions of the spine. There are eight pairs of cervical nerves, twelve pairs of thoracic nerves, five pairs of lumbar nerves, five pairs of sacral nerves, and one pair of coccygeal nerves. The spinal nerves are part of the peripheral nervous system.
The suboccipital nerve is the dorsal primary ramus of the first cervical nerve (C1). It exits the spinal cord between the skull and the first cervical vertebra, the atlas.
In human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are paired major arteries of the upper thorax, below the clavicle. They receive blood from the aortic arch. The left subclavian artery supplies blood to the left arm and the right subclavian artery supplies blood to the right arm, with some branches supplying the head and thorax. On the left side of the body, the subclavian comes directly off the aortic arch, while on the right side it arises from the relatively short brachiocephalic artery when it bifurcates into the subclavian and the right common carotid artery.
In anatomy and osteology, a foramen is an opening or enclosed gap within the dense connective tissue of extant and extinct amniote animals, typically to allow passage of nerves, arteries, veins or other soft tissue structures from one body compartment to another.
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae lie caudal of cervical vertebrae. In sauropsid species, the cervical vertebrae bear cervical ribs. In lizards and saurischian dinosaurs, the cervical ribs are large; in birds, they are small and completely fused to the vertebrae. The vertebral transverse processes of mammals are homologous to the cervical ribs of other amniotes. Most mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, with the only three known exceptions being the manatee with six, the two-toed sloth with five or six, and the three-toed sloth with nine.
The obliquus capitis inferior muscle is a muscle in the upper back of the neck. It is one of the suboccipital muscles. Its inferior attachment is at the spinous process of the axis; its superior attachment is at the transverse process of the atlas. It is innervated by the suboccipital nerve. The muscle rotates the head to its side.
The obliquus capitis superior muscle is a small muscle in the upper back part of the neck. It is one of the suboccipital muscles. It attaches inferiorly at the transverse process of the atlas ; it attaches superiorly at the external surface of the occipital bone. The muscle is innervated by the suboccipital nerve.
The vertebral arteries are major arteries of the neck. Typically, the vertebral arteries originate from the subclavian arteries. Each vessel courses superiorly along each side of the neck, merging within the skull to form the single, midline basilar artery. As the supplying component of the vertebrobasilar vascular system, the vertebral arteries supply blood to the upper spinal cord, brainstem, cerebellum, and posterior part of brain.
The scalene muscles are a group of three muscles on each side of the neck, identified as the anterior, the middle, and the posterior. They are innervated by the third to the eighth cervical spinal nerves (C3-C8).
The hyoglossus is a thin and quadrilateral extrinsic muscle of the tongue. It originates from the hyoid bone; it inserts onto the side of the tongue. It is innervated by the hypoglossal nerve. It acts to depress and retract the tongue.
The occipital artery is a branch of the external carotid artery that provides arterial supply to the back of the scalp, sternocleidomastoid muscles, and deep muscles of the back and neck.
The posterior triangle is a region of the neck.
The vertebral vein is formed in the suboccipital triangle, from numerous small tributaries which spring from the internal vertebral venous plexuses and issue from the vertebral canal above the posterior arch of the atlas.
The occipital vein is a vein of the scalp. It originates from a plexus around the external occipital protuberance and superior nuchal line to the back part of the vertex of the skull. It usually drains into the internal jugular vein, but may also drain into the posterior auricular vein. It drains part of the scalp.
The suboccipital triangle is a region of the neck bounded by the following three muscles of the suboccipital group of muscles:
The deep cervical artery is an artery of the neck.
The prevertebral fascia is the layer of deep cervical fascia that surrounds the vertebral column. It is the deepest layer of deep cervical fascia.
The posterior atlantooccipital membrane is a broad but thin membrane extending between the to the posterior margin of the foramen magnum above, and posterior arch of atlas below. It forms the floor of the suboccipital triangle.
The posterior branches of cervical nerves branch from the dorsal rami of the cervical nerves.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human anatomy:
