What are the parts of the cervical spine?

What are the parts of the cervical spine?

Your entire spine is made up of 24 vertebrae (bones of the spine). The cervical spine consists of seven vertebrae that begin at the base of the skull. Running through an opening of the entire vertebral column are the spinal cord and its nerves. The spinal cord and nerves carry messages between the brain and rest of body, including muscles and organs. Between each vertebrae are disks. The disks act like the body’s shock absorbers. The disks are made of flexible but strong connective tissue filled with a gel-like material. Disks are like “jelly-filled, cushy doughnuts” between each vertebrae.

There are three joints between each pair of vertebrae. The front joint is called the intervertebral disk. Two joints in the back of the spine are called facet joints. Within every joint is cartilage, which cushions the ends of bones. Ligaments are soft bands of tissue that connect the vertebrae together.

Spondylosis is the natural wearing down of these parts of the spine. Cartilage wears out over time, disks lose their volume and become dried and cracked, ligaments may thicken and bone spurs may form where bones rub against each other in areas that are no longer covered with cartilage. All of these changes are defined as spondylosis.