The spine is made up of 33 vertebrae which come together to form a singular structure. The spine lies in the middle of the body, from the base of the skull to just below the hip bones. The spine is divided into five distinct sections. The Cervical, composed of 7 vertebrae, Thoracic, 12 vertebrae, Lumber, 5, Sacrum, 5 fused vertebrae and the coccyx, 4 other fused vertebrae. Each individual vertebra is separated by interverbal discs and connected by ligaments and muscles. In this mission we will distinguish the difference between each section and what makes them different from each other. I will describe the distinctive characteristics of the different levels and the function they provide. The cervical vertebrae The cervical spine (Cx) is made up of 7 vertebral bones. These bones are named Cervical 1 (C1) through Cervical 7 (C7). The typical cervical vertebrae, C3-C6, have many things in common. All have vertebral bodies and posterior vertebral arches. The arch is made up of bony structures called pedicles and lamina. There are five joints between all adjacent cervical vertebrae except between C1 and C2 (atypical vertebrae), the anterior round disc separating the vertebral bodies and four posterior synovial facets, a pair that connect to the upper vertebra (superior facets) and a pair that connects to the vertebra below (lower facets). The other 3 vertebrae C1, C2 and C7 are atypical. (Moore, K & Dalley, A 2004, pp 482-485) See Figure 1 (Appendix) for the cervical spine and its main processes. Cervical 1- The C1, also known as the Atlas, is the very first bone that lies beneath the occipital bone of the skull. The Atlas is different from other vertebrae because it does not have a vertebral body...... middle of paper ......ally Oriented Anatomy, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, p 483, table 4.1Moore, K , Arthur, D 2006, Clinically Oriented Anatomy, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, p 489, table 4.2Moore, K, Arthur, D 2006, Clinically Oriented Anatomy, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, p 491, table 4.3Netter, F 2006, Atlas of Human Anatomy, Saunders Elsevier, Pennsylvania, p153, plate 153Palastanga, N, Field, D, Soames, R 2002, Anatomy and Human Movement, Butterwoth-Heinmann, OxfordSkeletal structure, accessed May 27, 2010, Thoracic Spine Anatomy, accessed on May 17, 2010, Waugh, A, Grant, A 2008, Anatomy and Physiology, Elsevier, London Pal Singh, A, Human Spine- Anatomy of Thoracic Spine, accessed May 20 2010,