Levator scapulae muscle
Overview
The levator scapulae is situated at the back and side of the neck.
Origin and insertion
It arises by tendinous slips from the transverse processes of the atlas and axis and from the posterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.
It is inserted into the vertebral border of the scapula, between the medial angle and the triangular smooth surface at the root of the spine.
Actions
If the head is fixed, the Levator scapulæ raises the medial angle of the scapula.
If the shoulder is fixed, the muscle inclines the neck to the corresponding side and rotates it in the same direction.
Variations
The number of vertebral attachments varies; a slip may extend to the occipital or mastoid, to the Trapezius, Scalene or Serratus anterior, or to the first or second rib.
The muscle may be subdivided into several distinct parts from origin to insertion.
Levator claviculæ from the transverse processes of one or two upper cervical vertebræ to the outer end of the clavicle corresponds to a muscle of lower animals.
More or less union with the Serratus anterior.
Nerves
The Levator scapulæ are supplied by the third and fourth cervical nerves, and frequently by a branch from the dorsal scapular.
Additional images
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A cervical vertebra -
Side view of a typical cervical vertebra -
Left scapula. Dorsal surface. -
Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. -
Muscles of the neck. Lateral view. -
Hypoglossal nerve, cervical plexus, and their branches. -
The right brachial plexus with its short branches, viewed from in front.
