Corpus: Craniocervical junction

The craniocervical junction, or CCJ for short, is the transitional area between the head and neck. Important pathways such as the spinal cord, the internal carotid artery and the vertebral artery run through this region of the body.

The craniocervical junction is not clearly defined anatomically and is defined differently in the literature. In the narrower sense, it comprises

• the inferior parts of the occipital bone with clivus and foramen magnum,
• the first two cervical vertebrae (atlas, axis) and
• the cervical musculature and the ligaments that connect the skull to the cervical spine.

Partial or complete rupture of the ligamentous structures of the craniocervical junction due to trauma leads to atlantooccipital dislocation (AOD) or atlantooccipital dissociation.