The longus colli muscle (Latin for ''long muscle of the neck'') is a
muscle
Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...
of the
human body
The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viabi ...
.
The longus colli is situated on the anterior surface of the
vertebral column, between the
atlas and the third
thoracic vertebra.
It is broad in the middle, narrow and pointed at either end, and consists of three portions, a superior oblique, an inferior oblique, and a vertical.
* The ''superior oblique portion'' arises from the
anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the third, fourth, and fifth
cervical vertebrae
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, ascending obliquely with a medial inclination, is inserted by a narrow tendon into the tubercle on the
anterior arch of the atlas.
* The ''inferior oblique portion'', the smallest part of the muscle, arises from the front of the bodies of the first two or three
thoracic vertebrae; and, ascending obliquely in a lateral direction, is inserted into 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 fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae.
* The ''vertical portion'' arises, below, from the front of the bodies of the upper three thoracic and lower three cervical vertebrae, and is inserted into the front of the bodies of the second, third, and fourth cervical vertebrae.
Clinical significance
It is commonly injured in rear end
whiplash injuries, usually resulting from a
car crash.
This muscle is in front of the spine and is thought by some scientists that it may cause some whiplash patients to have an unnatural lack of curvature in the patients' neck.
Acute calcific tendinitis of the longus colli muscle can occur. This presents with acute onset of neck pain, stiffness, dysphagia and odynophagia, and must be distinguished from retropharyngeal abscess and other sinister conditions. Imaging diagnosis is by CT or MRI, demonstrating calcification in the muscle in addition to retropharyngeal oedema. Treatment is supportive, with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Additional Images
File:Slide17aaa.JPG, Longus colli muscle
File:Slide3ccc.JPG, Longus colli muscle
File:Slide5jjj.JPG, Longus colli muscle
References
;Specific
External links
PTCentral
{{Authority control
Muscles of the head and neck