Transverse ligament of the atlas
- Transverse ligament of the atlas
Infobox Ligament
Name = Transverse ligament of the atlas
Latin = ligamentum transversum atlantis
GraySubject = 73
GrayPage = 293
Caption = Articulation between odontoid process and atlas. (Transverse ligament visible at center.)
Caption2 = Membrana tectoria, transverse, and alar ligaments. (Transverse ligament visible at center.)
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DorlandsPre = l_09
DorlandsSuf = 12493416
The transverse ligament of the atlas is a thick, strong band, which arches across the ring of the atlas, and retains the odontoid process in contact with the anterior arch.
It is concave in front, convex behind, broader and thicker in the middle than at the ends, and firmly attached on either side to a small tubercle on the medial surface of the lateral mass of the atlas.
As it crosses the odontoid process, a small fasciculus ("crus superius") is prolonged upward, and another ("crus inferius") downward, from the superficial or posterior fibers of the ligament.
The former is attached to the basilar part of the occipital bone, in close relation with the membrana tectoria; the latter is fixed to the posterior surface of the body of the axis; hence, the whole ligament is named the cruciate ligament of the atlas.
The transverse ligament divides the ring of the atlas into two unequal parts: of these, the posterior and larger serves for the transmission of the medulla spinalis and its membranes and the accessory nerves; the anterior and smaller contains the odontoid process.
The neck of the odontoid process is constricted where it is embraced posteriorly by the transverse ligament, so that this ligament suffices to retain the odontoid process in position after all the other ligaments have been divided.
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cruciate ligament — n any of several more or less cross shaped ligaments: as a) either of two ligaments in the knee joint which cross each other from femur to tibia: (1) ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT (2) POSTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT b) a complex ligament made up of the… … Medical dictionary
cruciate ligament — noun : any of several more or less cross shaped ligaments: as a. : a V shaped arrangement of fibers over the extensor tendons of the ankle b. : either of two ligaments in the knee joint that cross each other from femur to tibia c. : a complex… … Useful english dictionary
