Apical ligament of dens

{{Short description|Ligament of the spine and skull}}

{{Infobox anatomy

| Name = Ligament of apex dentis

| Latin = ligamentum apicis dentis

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| Caption = Median sagittal section through the occipital bone and first three cervical vertebrae (ligament of apex dentis labeled at center left as apical odontoid ligament)

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The ligament of apex dentis (or apical odontoid ligament) is a ligament that spans between the second cervical vertebra in the neck and the skull.

It lies as a fibrous cord in the triangular interval between the alar ligaments, which extends from the tip of the odontoid process on the axis to the anterior margin of the foramen magnum, being intimately blended with the deep portion of the anterior atlantooccipital membrane and superior crus of the transverse ligament of the atlas.

File:Anatomy of the Neck Sagittal Color MRI.png

It is regarded as a rudimentary intervertebral fibrocartilage, and in it traces of the notochord may persist.