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

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PTCentral
Muscles of the head and neck {{muscle-stub