Longus colli muscle

The longus colli muscle (Latin for long muscle of the neck) is a muscle of the human body.

The longus colli is situated on the anterior surface of the vertebral column, between the atlas and the third thoracic vertebra.

It is broad in the middle, narrow and pointed at either end, and consists of three portions, a superior oblique, an inferior oblique, and a vertical.

The superior oblique portion arises from the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the third, fourth, and fifth cervical vertebrae and, ascending obliquely with a medial inclination, is inserted by a narrow tendon into the tubercle on the anterior arch of the atlas.

The inferior oblique portion, the smallest part of the muscle, arises from the front of the bodies of the first two or three thoracic vertebrae; and, ascending obliquely in a lateral direction, is inserted into the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae.

The vertical portion arises, below, from the front of the bodies of the upper three thoracic and lower three cervical vertebrae, and is inserted into the front of the bodies of the second, third, and fourth cervical vertebrae.