Ligament · Neck

Anterior longitudinal ligament

Ligamentum longitudinale anterius

A broad strap running the whole length of the front of the spine, from the base of the skull down to the sacrum, welded to the front of every vertebral body and disc it passes. It is the main brake on the spine bending backward, and it is the ligament that resists the head-and-neck whip in an extension injury.