Splenius Capitis
The splenius capitis is a deep muscle located at the base of the back of the neck. It often operates together with the splenius cervicis (neck muscle) to perform simple movements such as turning or shaking the head from side to side.
The points of origin and insertion, and the actions of the splenius capitis muscle:
| Origin: | C7 - T3/4 spinous processes, and ligamentum nuchae |
| Insertion: | Mastoid process, which is a conical prominence projecting from the undersurface of the mastoid portion of the temporal bone |
| Actions: |
Whiplash injuries often involve damage to the splenius capitis muscle.
This is one of the muscles of the head, neck, and face that is included on the syllabus of many courses in Indian Head Massage. As this is a popular therapy we have included several pages that may be of interest to students of Indian Head Massage. See, for example, the page about skeletal structures of the head and neck.
To view the location of the splenius capitis muscle see the page about posterior muscles.
More about Muscles:
- The structure of muscle tissue and the structure of muscle cells
- Labelled diagrams of the muscles in different parts of the body including anterior muscles, posterior muscles and facial muscles
- Various other pages about e.g. types of muscle contractions, movements at joints, muscular disorders and related topics such as books about sports medicine
Click for pages about muscles
- Anterior Muscles
- Posterior Muscles
- Facial Muscles
- Muscle Terminology (Definitions)
- 1. Structure of Muscle
- 2. Structure of Muscle Cells
- 3. Muscle Filaments
- 4. Sliding Filament Theory
- 5. Neuromuscular Junction
- 6. Actions at Neuromuscular Junction
- Types of Muscle Contractions
- Muscular Disorders
- Effects of exercise on muscles
