medical Definition of atlanto-occipital
: relating to or being structures (as a joint or ligament) joining the atlas and the occipital bone
- The atlanto-occipital joint straddles the spinal cord and the foramen magnum on either side and is V-shaped, slanting caudally and medially.
- —Bentley A. Ogoke, Pain Physician, July 2000
- A blow to the neck by a hockey puck may produce arterial rupture where the vertebral artery penetrates the posterior atlanto-occipital membrane or the dura mater.
- —Barry J. Maron et al., The Journal of the American Medical Association, 6 Aug. 2003
