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Splenius capitis muscle

Broad, straplike muscle in the back of the neck

Summary

Broad, straplike muscle in the back of the neck

Field	Value
Name	Splenius capitis muscle
Latin	musculus splenius capitis
Image	Splenius.png
Caption	Muscles connecting the upper extremity to the vertebral column (splenius capitis et cervicis labeled at upper right).
Image2	Gray384.png
Caption2	Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. Showing the arrangement of the deep cervical fascia (splenius capitis labeled at bottom right).
Origin	Nuchal ligament and spinous process of C7-T3
Insertion	Mastoid process of temporal and occipital bone
Action	Extend, rotate, and laterally flex the head
Blood	Muscular branches of the aorta
Nerve	Posterior ramus of spinal nerves C3 and C4

The splenius capitis () () is a broad, straplike muscle in the back of the neck. It pulls on the base of the skull from the vertebrae in the neck and upper thorax. It is involved in movements such as shaking the head.

Structure

It arises from the lower half of the nuchal ligament, from the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra, and from the spinous processes of the upper three or four thoracic vertebrae.

The fibers of the muscle are directed upward and laterally and are inserted, under cover of the sternocleidomastoideus, into the mastoid process of the temporal bone, and into the rough surface on the occipital bone just below the lateral third of the superior nuchal line. The splenius capitis is deep to sternocleidomastoideus at the mastoid process, and to the trapezius for its lower portion. It is one of the muscles that forms the floor of the posterior triangle of the neck.

The splenius capitis muscle is innervated by the posterior ramus of spinal nerves C3 and C4.

Function

The splenius capitis muscle is a prime mover for head extension. The splenius capitis can also allow lateral flexion and rotation of the cervical spine.

Additional images

File:Gray385.png|Muscles of the neck. Lateral view. File:Slide2ccc.JPG|Splenius capitis muscle File:Braus 1921 56.png|Splenius muscle File:Braus 1921 58.png|Splenius and Semispinalis

References

{{Arnolds_Glossary_of_Anatomy
"Splenius capitis muscle - definition of Splenius capitis muscle in the Medical dictionary". Medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

muscles-of-the-torso human-head-and-neck otorhinolaryngology muscles-of-the-head-and-neck

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