1. A reference to the back of the neck beginning just below the occipital [back of the head] region extending down to the spine of the seventh cervical vertebra.
2. Referring to the back of the neck (nape); for example, "nuchal rigidity" is a stiff neck, sometimes a symptom of meningitis.

An elastic ligament extending from the external occipital protuberance to the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra.

That part of the squama (scaly or platelike) occipitalis (bone forming the rear bottom of the skull) which lies below the highest nuchal lines is rough and irregular and functions as the attachment for several muscles in the back of the neck.

Stiffness of the neck and resistance to passive movements, particularly flexion, usually accompanied by pain and spasm when motion is attempted.

It is recognized widely as the most common sign, after early infancy, of meningeal irritation, notably of meningitis and bleeding into the subarachnoid space which is the layer of tissue situated or occurring between the arachnoid (like a cobweb of fibers) and the pia mater (the delicate and highly vascular, blood vessels, membrane immediately investing [covering or enveloping] the brain and the spinal cord).

An elevation projecting beneath the skin, produced by the long spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra.