Sternocephalic muscle
Musculus sternocephalicus
Draws the head and neck laterally; flexes the neck when both sides act.
About the sternocephalic muscle of the dog
Sternocephalic muscle is a muscle of the neck (neck), one on each side of the body. Its name in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria is Musculus sternocephalicus. 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
- Manubrium of the sternum.
- Insertion
- Mastoid process of the temporal bone and the nuchal crest.
- Action
- Draws the head and neck laterally; flexes the neck when both sides act.
- Nerve
- Accessory nerve and ventral branches of the cervical nerves.
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
- Manubrium
- Temporal bone
- Occipital bone
Muscles and ligaments it works with
- Sternohyoid muscle
- Sternothyroid muscle
- Cleidocephalicus
- Brachiocephalicus
- Omotransverse muscle
- Digastric muscle
Terminology
- English
- Sternocephalic muscle
- Latin (NAV)
- Musculus sternocephalicus
- 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 sternocephalic muscle in other animals
The same structure in the other animals in the Library, to compare.
Questions about the sternocephalic muscle
- What is the Latin name of the sternocephalic muscle?
- In the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, the sternocephalic muscle is called Musculus sternocephalicus.
- Where is the sternocephalic muscle of the dog?
- Sternocephalic muscle is a muscle of the neck (neck), one on each side of the body.
- Which bones does the sternocephalic muscle attach to?
- Sternocephalic muscle takes hold of Manubrium, Temporal bone and Occipital bone.
- Where does the sternocephalic muscle originate and insert?
- Origin: Manubrium of the sternum. Insertion: Mastoid process of the temporal bone and the nuchal crest.
- What nerve supplies the sternocephalic muscle?
- Accessory nerve and ventral branches of the cervical nerves.
- What does the sternocephalic muscle do?
- Draws the head and neck laterally; flexes the neck when both sides act.
See the sternocephalic 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.
