Cervical spine is, from an anatomic and physiologic point of view, divided into 2 regions:

  • Upper cervical spine: This region has huge differences compared to all other vertebrae and joints of the spine. It is composed by:
    • Atlanto-occipital joint;
    • Atlanto-axial joint;
  • Lower cervical spine: from C2 to C7 the joints are more similar to all other vertebral joints and have only a few regional differentiations.