The transversospinales are a group of

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 mus ...

s of the

human back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column r ...

. Their combined action is rotation and extension of the

vertebral column The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordate ...

. These muscles are small and have a poor mechanical advantage for contributing to motion. They include: * the three semispinalis muscles, spanning 4-6 vertebral segments ** semispinalis thoracis ** semispinalis cervicis ** semispinalis capitis * multifidus, spanning 2-4 vertebral segments * rotatores, spanning 1-2 vertebral segments ** rotatores cervicis ** rotatores thoracis ** rotatores lumborum

External links

* Musculoskeletal Interventions: Techniques for Therapeutic exercise. Authors: Michael L. Voight, Barabara J. Hoogenboom, William E. Prentice. Muscles of the torso {{muscle-stub