Posterior arch of atlas

The posterior arch forms about two-fifths of the circumference of the ring:

it ends behind in the posterior tubercle, which is the rudiment of a spinous process and gives origin to the Recti capitis posteriores minores and the ligamentum nuchae.

The diminutive size of this process prevents any interference with the movements between the atlas and the skull.

The posterior part of the arch presents above and behind a rounded edge for the attachment of the posterior atlantooccipital membrane, while immediately behind each superior articular process is the superior vertebral notch (sulcus arteriae vertebralis).

This is a groove that is sometimes converted into a foramen by ossification of the posterior atlantooccipital membrane to create a delicate bony spiculum which arches backward from the posterior end of the superior articular process.

This anatomical variant is known as an arcuate foramen.

This groove transmits the vertebral artery, which, after ascending through the foramen in the transverse process, winds around the lateral mass in a direction backward and medially to enter the vertebrobasilar circulation through the foramen magnum; it also transmits the suboccipital nerve (first spinal nerve)

On the under surface of the posterior arch, behind the inferior articular facets, are two shallow grooves, the inferior vertebral notches.

The lower border gives attachment to the posterior atlantoaxial ligament, which connects it with the axis.