# What is the articulations of the vertebral column with the cranium?

Gray’s Anatomy (1918) describes the articulations of the vertebral column with the cranium as follows: The ligaments connecting the vertebral column with the cranium may be divided into two sets: those uniting the atlas with the occipital bone, and those connecting the axis with the occipital bone.

## What it means

- The ligaments connecting the vertebral column with the cranium may be divided into two sets: those uniting the atlas with the occipital bone, and those connecting the axis with the occipital bone. Articulation of the Atlas with the Occipital Bone ( articulatio atlantoöccipitalis ). —The articulation between the atlas and the occipital bone consists of a pair of condyloid joints. The ligaments connecting the bones are: Two Articular Capsules. The Posterior Atlantoöccipital membrane.
- The Anterior Atlantoöccipital membrane. Two Lateral Atlantoöccipital.

## Sources

- [Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918)](https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/anatomy-of-the-human-body/5c-articulations-of-the-vertebral-column-with-the-cranium/)

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