Long Neck Muscle

Long neck muscle , m. Longus colli, occupies the anterolateral surface of the vertebral bodies - from the atlas to the III-IV thoracic vertebrae. The middle parts of the muscle are somewhat enlarged. Muscle bundles have different lengths, so the muscle is divided into three parts:
A) the medial-vertical part starts from the vertebral bodies from V neck to III thoracic and, rising upward and medially, is attached to the anterior surface of the III-II cervical vertebrae and tuberculum anterius atlantis;
B) the upper oblique part extends from the anterior tubercles of the ribs and transverse processes of the II-V cervical vertebrae to the body II of the cervical vertebra and tuberculum anterius atlantis; C) the lower oblique part begins from the bodies of the three upper thoracic vertebrae, is directed upwards and laterally and is attached to the anterior tubercles of the costal-transverse processes of the three lower cervical vertebrae (V-VII).

Function: Tilts the cervical spine forward and to its side.

Innervation: nn, cervicales (C3-C8).

Blood supply: aa. Vertebralis, cervicalis ascendens et cervicalis profunda.