odontoid process

The internal structure of the odontoid process is more compact than that of the body.

This allows the atlas to move forward relative to the odontoid process of the axis when the neck is flexed.

In some judicial hangings the odontoid process may break and hit the medulla oblongata, causing death.

The dens, or odontoid process, exhibits a slight constriction or neck where it joins the body.

For example, contact sports are contraindicated for individuals with an anomalous odontoid process, as any violent impact may result in a catastrophic injury.

Odontoid process (if it is just below the mentum, it confirms adequate extension of the head)

McGregor's line, which assesses the protrusion of the odontoid process above the foramen magnum, is widely used in clinical practice.

The pedicles are broad and strong, especially in front, where they coalesce with the sides of the body and the root of the odontoid process.

The most distinctive characteristic of this bone is the strong odontoid process (dens) that rises perpendicularly from the upper surface of the body.

The dens or odontoid process consists originally of a continuation upward of the cartilaginous mass, in which the lower part of the body is formed.

This is because a malformed odontoid process may lead to instability between the atlas and axis (the C1 and C2 cervical vertebrae).

Atlanto-axial subluxation can occur, owing to erosion of the odontoid process and or/transverse ligaments in the cervical spine's connection to the skull.

There is a pivot articulation between the odontoid process of the axis and the ring formed by the anterior arch and the transverse ligament of the atlas.

The apex of the odontoid process has a separate center which appears in the second and joins about the twelfth year; this is the upper epiphysial lamella of the atlas.

The transverse ligament of the atlas is a thick, strong band, which arches across the ring of the atlas, and retains the odontoid process in contact with the anterior arch.

As it crosses the odontoid process, a small fasciculus (crus superius) is prolonged upward, and another (crus inferius) downward, from the superficial or posterior fibers of the ligament.

The African bull frog (Pyxicephalus), which preys on relatively large animals such as mice and other frogs, has cone shaped bony projections called odontoid processes at the front of the lower jaw which function like teeth.

On Saturday, August 23, 2008, Warren broke her odontoid process and the cervical vertebra 2 and was diagnosed as paralyzed from a bicycle crash that happened on a descent during the Santa Barbara, California, triathlon.

Each is strengthened at its posterior and medial part by an accessory ligament, which is attached below to the body of the axis near the base of the odontoid process, and above to the lateral mass of the atlas near the transverse ligament.

The transverse ligament divides the ring of the atlas into two unequal parts: of these, the posterior and larger serves for the transmission of the medulla spinalis and its membranes and the accessory nerves; the anterior and smaller contains the odontoid process.

The neck of the odontoid process is constricted where it is embraced posteriorly by the transverse ligament, so that this ligament suffices to retain the odontoid process in position after all the other ligaments have been divided.

From the sagittal view the plumb line should bisect the ear, odontoid process of C2, the cervical vertebral bodies, the center of the glenohumeral joint, the lumbar vertebral bodies, the center of the acetabulum, just posterior to the patella, and through the tarsals of the feet.