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axis

File:C2_lateral.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ792567· pop 39· linked from 293 articles

Also known as epistropheus, C2, C2 vertebra, second cervical vertebra, axis vertebra, cervical vertebra 2

second cervical vertebra of the spine

Key facts

Latin
axis, vertebra cervicalis II
Mesh
D001368
Ta98
A02.2.02.201

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
C2 from top animation small.gif
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Commons category
Axis (anatomy)
NCI Thesaurus ID
C32240
Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Article

In anatomy, the axis (from Latin axis, "axle") is the second cervical vertebra (C2) of the spine, immediately inferior to the atlas, upon which the head rests. The spinal cord passes through the axis.

The defining feature of the axis is its strong bony protrusion known as the dens, which rises from the superior aspect of the bone.

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