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Cervical Spine Anatomy

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Handbook of Spine Technology

Abstract

An in depth understanding of cervical spine anatomy is essential to the diagnosis and management of cervical spine pathology. From the osseous anatomy down to the soft tissues structures that function to stabilize, maintain, and protect the spinal cord clinicians must be able to appreciate the biomechanics and the complex anatomy. For patients managed operatively, appropriate surgical planning and operative technique rely heavily upon a sound understanding of the intricate anatomy in this region. In this chapter we detail the cervical spine anatomy with particular emphasis on the osseous, muscular, ligamentous, and neurovascular tissues with the goal of providing clinicians a comprehensive review that they can depend on and refer to when treating patients with cervical spine disease.

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Correspondence to Bobby G. Yow .

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Yow, B.G., Piscoya, A.S., Wagner, S.C. (2020). Cervical Spine Anatomy. In: Cheng, B. (eds) Handbook of Spine Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33037-2_2-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33037-2_2-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33037-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33037-2

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