Spinous Process of Third Cervical Vertebra

Description

The spinous process is the single, posteriorly projecting process located at the posterior part of the vertebral arch of a typical cervical vertebra. It extends from the junction between the two laminae, which itself is found at the midline.

Overall, the spinous processes of typical cervical vertebrae are generally short and horizontally oriented. These spinous processes can be bifid or nonbifid, depending on the race and sex of an individual (Duray, Morter and Smith, 1999). They provide attachment sites for intrinsic back muscles and the nuchal ligament.

Duray, S. M., Morter, H. B. and Smith, F. J. (1999) 'Morphological variation in cervical spinous processes: potential applications in the forensic identification of race from the skeleton', J Forensic Sci, 44(5), pp. 937-44.