part of part of located in adjacent to occipital bone sphenoid bone clivus of occipital bone UBERON:0004108 clivus Wackenheim's clivus line occipital bone clivus The clivus is an important landmark for checking for anatomical atlanto-occipital alignment; the clivus, when viewed on a lateral C-spine X-ray, forms a line which, if extended, is known as Wackenheim's clivus line. Wackenheim's clivus line should pass through the dens of the axis or be tangential to it. NCIT:C12494 clivus ossis occipitalis Wikipedia:Clivus_(anatomy) FMA:75747 SCTID:361736007 neuronames:674 Part of the cranium, the clivus is a shallow depression behind the dorsum sellC& that slopes obliquely backward. It forms a gradual sloping process at the anterior most portion of the basilar occipital bone at its junction with the sphenoid bone. On axial planes, it sits just posterior to the sphenoid sinuses. Just lateral to the clivus bilaterally is the foramen lacerum which contains the internal carotid artery, proximal to its anastamosis with the Circle of Willis. Posterior to the clivus is the basilar artery. The clivus supports the upper part of the pons. zone of bone organ posterior cranial fossa