Neck - neck (English spelling)

Japanese: 首∥頸 - くび（英語表記）neck

The part of an animal's body that is more or less tapered behind the head is often called the neck. The neck of a vertebrate is an extension of the torso in front of the forelimbs, and contains the vertebral column connected to the skull, the spinal cord extending from the brain, the esophagus leading to the pharynx, blood vessels to the head, and in animals that breathe with lungs, the trachea. Fish do not have cervical vertebrae, which are modified vertebrae in the front of the spine, but amphibians generally have one, reptiles have eight, birds have 13 to 14, and mammals have seven (or rarely 6, 8, or 9), allowing the head to move freely.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

動物の体で頭部の後方で多少とも細くなっている部分が，しばしば頸(頸部)と呼ばれる。脊椎動物の頸cervixは前肢の前方の胴部が伸長したもので，頭骨につらなる脊柱，脳から伸びた脊髄，咽頭に続く食道，頭部への血管，肺呼吸するものでは気管などが通っている。脊柱前部の椎骨が変形した頸椎は魚類にはないが，一般に両生類で1個，爬虫類で8個，鳥類で13～14個，哺乳類で7個(ごくまれに6,8,9個)あり，頭部の自由な運動を可能にしている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Necklace - Neck ornament

>>: Yu Fān (English spelling)