C4 — fourth cervical vertebra (Vertebra cervicalis quarta)
Educational content only — not medical advice.
Anatomy
C4, the fourth of seven cervical vertebrae: a small saddle-like body, a large vertebral foramen, and a transverse process perforated by the vertebral artery. The thyroid cartilage reaches about this level in the adult; the vertebra keeps the typical cervical pattern with a foramen in every transverse process.
Clinical notes
Isolated trauma at this level is rare but warns of cervical instability; chronic neck pain merits imaging to exclude disc disease and spondylosis.
Related structures
Educational references
FAQ
What is the role of the C4 — fourth cervical vertebra?
C4, the fourth of seven cervical vertebrae: a small saddle-like body, a large vertebral foramen, and a transverse process perforated by the vertebral artery. The thyroid cartilage reaches about this level in the adult; the vertebra keeps the typical cervical pattern with a foramen in every transverse process.
Why is the C4 — fourth cervical vertebra clinically important?
Isolated trauma at this level is rare but warns of cervical instability; chronic neck pain merits imaging to exclude disc disease and spondylosis.
Source & license
Derived from Z-Anatomy (Gauthier Kervyn et al.), CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); upstream geometry from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science. license details