Hollybush Clinic - What is the atlas and the axis? The two uppermost vertebrae of the cervical spine play an important role in the motion and flexibility of the head. The atlas (
![Cervical vertebrae vector illustration. Scheme with skull, C1 atlas, C2 axis, C3, C4, C5, C6 and C7 vertebra. Intervertebral disc and anterior tubercle diagram. Stock Vector | Adobe Stock Cervical vertebrae vector illustration. Scheme with skull, C1 atlas, C2 axis, C3, C4, C5, C6 and C7 vertebra. Intervertebral disc and anterior tubercle diagram. Stock Vector | Adobe Stock](https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/02/11/65/25/1000_F_211652506_JiPZpOzL7EM6oCcGTZcQ17Vg2S69vKY5.jpg)
Cervical vertebrae vector illustration. Scheme with skull, C1 atlas, C2 axis, C3, C4, C5, C6 and C7 vertebra. Intervertebral disc and anterior tubercle diagram. Stock Vector | Adobe Stock
![Head‐turning morphologies: Evolution of shape diversity in the mammalian atlas–axis complex - Vander Linden - 2019 - Evolution - Wiley Online Library Head‐turning morphologies: Evolution of shape diversity in the mammalian atlas–axis complex - Vander Linden - 2019 - Evolution - Wiley Online Library](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cms/asset/8fd46afb-076e-49f3-a2f4-51ab4f6cca64/evo13815-fig-0001-m.jpg)