The first vertebra of the human vertebral column is the ________ and it articulates with the ________.

Step-by-step solution

The first cervical vertebra is the atlas. It articulates with the two occipital condyles of the skull, which is a characteristic feature of the human dicondylic skull. The axis is the second cervical vertebra, not the first. The parietal bones are part of the cranial vault and do not articulate with the vertebral column. The odontoid process is a feature of the axis vertebra itself, not a skull structure that the first vertebra articulates with. Answer: Atlas; occipital condyles