In the third through seventh cervical vertebrae, the lateral one-quarter
of the body is originally part of the neural arch and is formed slightly
cephalad to the rest of the vertebral body. After excavation of the
superior vertebral notch, the osseous prominence that remains is the uncus.
The intervertebral disc is limited to the area between the anlagen of the
vertebral bodies, and the portion of the intervertebral space that is
lateral to the disc is occupied by loose fibrous tissue. When this tissue
is resorbed it leaves a space that constitutes Luschka's joint. These
anatomical findings are based on dissections of forty-five specimens
comprising human fetuses and autopsy material from individuals who ranged
in age from eight days to eighty-nine years.