The cervical spine is the upper most spines forming the spinal column, extending from the skull base to the level of the thoracic vertebra (the spines with attached ribs). The cervical spines are usually seven and the main function is to support the skull and to protect the spinal cord.
Apart from the first cervical vertebra (atlas) and the second vertebra (axis), the other vertebral bodies share a general anatomical appearance:
Oval shaped vertebral bodies with wide vertebral arch, large vertebral foramina and long spinous processes.
This particular model shows parts of the mandible as well as the hyoid bone.
This 3D model was created from the file STS_044. The source scan used to create this file can be
found here.