Preferred Label : cervical vertebra;
Uberon definition : A vertebra that is located in the cervical region of the vertebral column.;
Uberon synonym : cervical vertebrae;
Uberon Taxon note : In some species, some parts of the skull may be composed of vertebra-like elements,
e.g. the occipital bone in humans is composed of four vertebra-like segments. In many
vertebrate species, cervical vertebrae are variable in number; however, almost all
mammals have seven (including those with very short necks relative to body size, such
as elephants or whales, and those with very long necks, such as giraffes). The few
exceptions include the manatee and the sloths, of which the two-toed sloth has six
cervical vertebrae and the three-toed sloth has up to nine cervical vertebrae. In
many species, though not in mammals, the cervical vertebrae bear ribs. In many other
groups, such as lizards and saurischian dinosaurs, the cervical ribs are large; in
birds they are small and completely fused to the vertebrae. The transverse processes
of mammals are homologous to the cervical ribs of other amniotes. Thoracic vertebrae
in all species are defined as those vertebrae which also carry a pair of ribs, and
lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. In humans, cervical vertebrae are the smallest
of the true vertebrae, and can be readily distinguished from those of the thoracic
or lumbar regions by the presence of a foramen (hole) in each transverse process,
through which passes the vertebral artery.;
Origin ID : 0002413;
Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- Uberon cross reference
- develops from
- has part
A vertebra that is located in the cervical region of the vertebral column.
