The ligaments of the cervical spine include ligaments that are present throughout the spine extending into the cervical region and ligaments that are only found in the cervical part of the spine.

Ligaments that are present along most of the spine:

• Anterior longitudinal ligament
• Posterior longitudinal ligament
• Yellow ligaments
• Intertransverse ligaments

Ligaments exclusively found in the neck region:

• Nuchal ligament
• Cruciate ligament of atlas
• Alar ligaments
• Apical ligament of dens

Facet joint capsules

Like other synovial joints of the body, facet joints (zygapophyseal joints) of the vertebral column are strengthened by joint capsules or articular capsules - dense connective tissue structures that cover synovial joints and seal the joint spaces.

The facet joint capsules are particularly thin and loose, they attach to margins of the articular facets on adjacent articular processes of vertebrae. Medially, these capsules fuse with the yellow ligaments.