The atlas is the first of the seven |cervical vertebrae|, and is called such because it bears the direct weight of the |skull|, just as the mythical Greek hero Atlas bore the world on his shoulders. The atlas vertebra meets with the |occipital condyles| which flank the |foramen magnum| in the |basilar part| of the |occipital bone| of the |skull|. This junction forms the atlanto-occipital joint, and is responsible for the primary articulation between the |spine| and the |skull|. It is the only vertebra in the |spine| which has no |vertebral body|. The atlas vertebra, in turn rests upon the |axis| vertebra, which is the second of the cervical vertebra in the |spine|, with the articulation between these two vertebra occurring at lateral articular surfaces and an unique juncture between a concave ~facet~ (on the atlas) and an upward-protruding structure on the |axis| called a dens.
