epistropheus
noun1
Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences The second cervical vertebra of the spine which forms the pivot upon which the first cervical vertebra (the atlas), which carries the head, rotates.
- The union of the atlas and epistropheus is described in this section because (1) there is often a direct communication between the synovial cavity of the transverse epistropic and the occipito-atlantal joints; (2) the rotatory movements of the head take place around the dens (odontoid process); and (3) important ligaments from the dens pass over the atlas to the occiput.1914, Human Anatomy: A Complete Systematic Treatise, page 215:
- Synonyms
- axis, vertebra dentata