What is the second vertebra called?
The second vertebra of the neck is called the axis. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the second cervical vertebra.
What it is
- The second cervical vertebra.
- Has a peg-like process called the dens (odontoid process) rising from its body.
- The dens serves as the pivot around which the atlas — and with it the skull — rotates.
Where it is
- Directly below the atlas.
- Above the third cervical vertebra.
- Its dens projects up into the ring of the atlas.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
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