Splenius muscle
Musculus splenius capitis
Lifts head and neck together; acting on one side it turns them to that side.
About the splenius muscle of the dog
Splenius muscle is a muscle of the neck (neck), one on each side of the body. Its name in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria is Musculus splenius capitis. You can turn it above, see it in place in the neck of the dog, and open it inside the whole animal in Vetomica.
Where it runs from and to
A muscle is told apart from its neighbours by what it takes hold of at each end, which is also what decides what it does when it shortens.
- Origin
- Tips of the spines of the first few thoracic vertebrae and the fibrous band along the top of the neck.
- Insertion
- Nuchal crest and the mastoid region behind the ear.
- Action
- Lifts head and neck together; acting on one side it turns them to that side.
- Nerve
- Cervical spinal nerves, their dorsal rami.
Written for Vetomica in its own words from the standard reference anatomy of the dog; the books it was checked against are listed below.
What it works on
Bones it takes hold of
- Occipital bone
- Temporal bone
Muscles and ligaments it works with
- Nuchal ligament
- Semispinalis capitis
- Biventer cervicis
- Complexus
- Longissimus capitis
- Cranial dorsal serrate muscle
- Rhomboideus, capitis and cervicis parts (merged in one mesh)
- Rhomboideus, capitis and cervicis parts (merged in one mesh)
- Cervical part of the trapezius
- Omotransverse muscle
- Cleidocephalicus
- Cervical part of the ventral serrate muscle
Terminology
- English
- Splenius muscle
- Latin (NAV)
- Musculus splenius capitis
- Status
- A valid term in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria
References
Where to read this structure in full, and where the named parts above were read.
- NAV 2017Myologia
- Miller's Anatomy of the Dog, 5th ed.The Muscular System: muscles of the neck
- Dyce, Sack & WensingThe neck, back and vertebral column of the dog and cat
- Miller 2020 (book pass)ch. 6 The Muscular System, PDF p. 503
The splenius muscle in other animals
The same structure in the other animals in the Library, to compare.
Questions about the splenius muscle
- What is the Latin name of the splenius muscle?
- In the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, the splenius muscle is called Musculus splenius capitis.
- Where is the splenius muscle of the dog?
- Splenius muscle is a muscle of the neck (neck), one on each side of the body.
- Which bones does the splenius muscle attach to?
- Splenius muscle takes hold of Occipital bone and Temporal bone.
- Where does the splenius muscle originate and insert?
- Origin: Tips of the spines of the first few thoracic vertebrae and the fibrous band along the top of the neck. Insertion: Nuchal crest and the mastoid region behind the ear.
- What nerve supplies the splenius muscle?
- Cervical spinal nerves, their dorsal rami.
- What does the splenius muscle do?
- Lifts head and neck together; acting on one side it turns them to that side.
See the splenius muscle inside the whole dog.
Vetomica opens on this structure with every layer of the dog around it: peel back the skin and the muscles, cut a section through it, X-ray it, and practise naming it until you stop getting it wrong.
Free for 7 days, no card. After that the skeletons stay free.
