Obliquus capitis superior muscle
| Obliquus capitis superior muscle | |
|---|---|
 Skull seen from behind (obliquus capitis superior shown in red) | |
 Obliquus capitis superior (red) and its relationship to other suboccipital muscles. | |
| Details | |
| Origin | Lateral mass of atlas |
| Insertion | Lateral half of the inferior nuchal line |
| Nerve | Suboccipital nerve |
| Actions | Extends head and flex head to the ipsilateral side |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | Musculus obliquus capitis superior |
| Dorlands /Elsevier | m_22/12549857 |
| TA | A04.2.02.006 |
| FMA | 32527 |
The obliquus capitis superior muscle (/əˈblaɪkwəs ˈkæpᵻtᵻs/) is a small muscle in the upper back part of the neck and is one of the suboccipital muscles. It arises from the lateral mass of the atlas bone. It passes superiorly and posteriorly to insert into the lateral half of the inferior nuchal line on the external surface of the occipital bone. The muscle is innervated by the suboccipital nerve, the dorsal ramus of the first spinal nerve.
It acts at the atlanto-occipital joint to extend the head and flex the head to the ipsilateral side.
Additional images
-
Position of obliquus capitis superior (shown in red). Animation.
-
Still image. Posterior view.
-
Deep muscles of the back (obliquus capitis superior labeled at upper left)
-
Occipital bone. Outer surface. Muscle attachments are shown as red circles.
-
Base of skull. Inferior surface. Muscle attachments are shown as red circles.
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Obliquus capitis superior muscles. |
- -1362100144 at GPnotebook
- Anatomy figure: 01:07-06 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||