In the dorso-lumbar region there is a series of short flat layers of connective tissue passing in a backward and downward direction from the posterior border of the superior spinous process of one vertebra to the anterior border of the one succeeding it. In the cervical region they are composed of elastic tissue to allow of a more extensive and free movement of the neck.

Fig. 347. - Ligamentum Nuchae.

A, Funicular or cordiforni portion. B, Lamellar or flat portion. C, Attachments to dorsal spines. Nos. 1 to 7, Cervical Vertebrae.

The articular processes of the vertebrae throughout are connected by means of a capsular ligament, and the same may be said of the articulations on the transverse processes of the two last lumbar and first sacral vertebrae.