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
TA A04.2.02.006
FMA 32527

Anatomical terms of muscle

The obliquus capitis superior muscle (/əˈblkwəs ˈkæpts/) 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

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

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