Foramen transversarium develops by vestigial costal element fused to the body and the true transverse process of cervical vertebra. Foramen transversarium transmits the vertebral artery, vertebral vein, and sympathetic nerves except C7 vertebra which transmits vertebral vein. These foramina are known to exhibit variations in size, shape and number. Sometimes these foramina may also found to be absent, incomplete or even duplicate which may lead to various symptoms. Materials and METHODS: Our study included 200 dried human cervical vertebrae of unknown age and sex .Among them 30 were C1 atypical cervical vertebrae 30 were C2 atypical cervical vertebra and 40 were C7 cervical vertebrae 100 were typical cervical vertebrae. All the cervical vertebrae were observed macroscopically for the presence of accessory foramen on both the sides. Results: Accessory foramina were observed in 8% (16 vertebrae). Accessory foramina found were smaller as compared to normal regular foramina. Conclusions: Under such circumstances path of vertebral artery may be altered which is significant for neurosurgeons and radiologists during surgeries in cervical area and while doing CT and MRI scans respectively.
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