C3–C7 vertebrae

Looks like

Five small vertebrae in the neck, each with holes in the side processes for the vertebral arteries.

What it does

Support and move the head and protect the spinal cord.

Keeping it well

Screen at eye level and regular breaks; arm pain with numbness or weakness is a trapped nerve root, and clumsy hands with unsteady walking suggests cord pressure.

Its parts

• Vertebra prominens (C7)

Related conditions

• Acromegaly
• Fractures
• Fragility fracture
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Neck pain and cervical spondylosis
• Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease)
• Osteomalacia & rickets
• Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
• Osteoporosis
• Paget's disease of bone
• Sarcoma
• Vitamin B1, C and other deficiencies
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Whiplash
• Wry neck (torticollis)