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Rectus capitis posterior major: anatomy, location and function

A suboccipital muscle forming the superomedial border of the suboccipital triangle. Extends the head and rotates it to the same side.

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Highlighted in the model: Rectus capitis posterior major. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Rectus capitis posterior major at a glance

What it is
A suboccipital muscle forming the superomedial border of the suboccipital triangle.
Location
Originates from the spinous process of the axis (C2) and inserts onto the lateral part of the inferior nuchal line of the occipital bone.
Function
Extends the head and rotates it to the same side.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA32531 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: suboccipital nerve (dorsal ramus of C1)
  • Blood supply: vertebral and occipital arteries

Structures next to the rectus capitis posterior major

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Rectus capitis posterior major (FMA32531). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.