Levator scapulae muscle

Levator scapulae muscle
Muscles connecting the upper extremity to the vertebral column. (Levator scapula visible at upper right, at the neck.)
Details
Origin	Posterior tubercles of transverse processes of C1 - C4 vertebrae
Insertion	Superior part of medial border of scapula
Artery	dorsal scapular artery
Nerve	cervical nerve (C3, C4) and dorsal scapular nerve (C5)
Actions	Elevates scapula and tilts its glenoid cavity inferiorly by rotating scapula
Identifiers
Latin	musculus levator scapulae
TA98	A04.3.01.009
TA2	2234
FMA	32519
Anatomical terms of muscle

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.

IT DOESNT SAYY WHAT IT DOES!!!! BAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Nerves

The Levator scapulæ are supplied by the third and fourth cervical nerves, and frequently by a branch from the dorsal scapular.

Additional images

• 
  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.

External links

• Template:MuscleLoyola
• Illustration: levatorscapulae from The Department of Radiology at the University of Washington
• . GPnotebook https://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=-154140595. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Template:Exrx

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 435 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)