The longus capitis muscle (Latin for ''long muscle of the head'', alternatively rectus capitis anticus major), is broad and thick above, narrow below, and arises by four tendinous slips, from the anterior tubercles of the
transverse processes
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...
of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth
cervical vertebræ
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In ...
, and ascends, converging toward its fellow of the opposite side, to be inserted into the inferior surface of the
basilar part of the
occipital bone
The occipital bone () is a neurocranium, cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobe ...
.
It is innervated by a branch of cervical plexus.
Longus capitis has several actions:
acting unilaterally, to:
*flex the head and neck laterally
*rotate the head ipsilaterally
acting bilaterally:
*flex the head and neck
Additional images
File:Gray129.png, Occipital bone. Outer surface.
File:Gray187.png, Base of skull. Inferior surface.
File:Slide4ccc.JPG, Longus capitis muscle
File:Slide6jjj.JPG, Longus capitis muscle
References
External links
*
PTCentral
Muscles of the head and neck
{{muscle-stub