Corpus: Cruciform ligament of atlas
1. Definition
The cruciform ligament of atlas is a ligament of the cervical spine that stabilizes the upper cervical joints. It consists of the transverse ligament of the atlas and the attached longitudinal fibers.
2. Background
The transverse atlantic ligament is a short, very strong ligament that stretches out in the bone ring of the atlas and holds the dens axis in position.
The longitudinal fibers connect to the transverse ligament in a braided fashion. The cranial longitudinal bundle inserts at the edge of the foramen magnum. The ventral longitudinal bundle (inferior longitudinal fasciculus) extends to the dorsal surface of the 2nd cervical vertebral body (axis).