The splenius cervicis () (also known as the splenius colli, ) is a muscle in the back of the neck. It arises by a narrow tendinous band from the
spinous 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 to the sixth
thoracic vertebrae
In vertebrates, thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. In humans, there are twelve thoracic vertebrae and they are intermediate in size between the cervical ...
; it is inserted, by tendinous
fasciculi, into the
posterior tubercles of the
transverse processes of the upper two or three
cervical vertebrae.
Its name is based on the Greek word σπληνίον, ''splenion'' (meaning a bandage) and the Latin word ''cervix'' (meaning a neck).
The word ''collum'' also refers to the neck in Latin.
The function of the splenius cervicis muscle is extension of the cervical spine, rotation to the ipsilateral side and lateral flexion to the ipsilateral side.
[R.T. Floyd, Manual of Structural Kinesiology, 2012, 18th Ed.]
Additional images
File:Splenius_cervicis_muscle_animation_small.gif, Position of splenius cervicis muscle (shown in red).
File:Splenius_cervicis_muscle_lateral.png, Lateral view.
File:Splenius_cervicis_muscle_back.png, Posterior view.
File:Gray385.png, Muscles of the neck. Lateral view.
File:Gray384.png, Section of the neck at the level of the sixth cervical vertebra.
References
External links
PTCentral
Muscles of the torso
{{muscle-stub