Alar ligament
The alar ligaments join the lateral margins of the sloping upper posterior margin of the dens of C2 to the lateral margins of the foramen magnum (adjacent to the occipital condyles) and lie on either side of the apical ligament. They may be oblique or vertical and are thickest at the occipital attachment. They are paired ligaments that are very strong and limit axial rotation and contralateral lateral flexion of the head. With the transverse band of the cruciform ligament, they are the primary stabiliser of the atlanto-axial joint 2.
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Anatomy: Spine
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osteology
- vertebrae
- spinal canal
- cervical spine
- thoracic spine
- lumbar spine
- sacrum
- coccyx
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anatomical variants
- vertebral body
- neural arch
- transitional vertebrae
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- ossification centers
- intervertebral disk
- articulations
- ligaments
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suboccipital muscle group
- rectus capitis posterior major muscle
- rectus capitis posterior minor muscle
- obliquus capitis superior muscle
- obliquus capitis inferior muscle
- splenius capitis muscle
- splenius cervicis muscle
- erector spinae group
- transversospinalis group
- quadratus lumborum
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suboccipital muscle group
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spinal cord
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white matter tracts (white matter)
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dorsal columns
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