Rhomboid major at a glance
- What it is
- A flat muscle deep to trapezius that connects the spine to the scapula.
- Location
- Originates from the spinous processes of T2 to T5 and inserts onto the medial border of the scapula between the spine and the inferior angle.
- Function
- Retracts the scapula, rotates it to lower the glenoid cavity and holds the scapula against the thoracic wall.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA13381 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: dorsal scapular nerve (C4–C5)
- Blood supply: dorsal scapular artery
Clinical relevance
Weakness or dorsal scapular nerve injury may contribute to scapular winging.
Structures next to the rhomboid major
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Fifth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Dorsal scapular artery · cardiovascular
- Serratus posterior superior · muscular
- Fourth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Sixth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Levatores costarum breves · muscular
- Intervertebral disk of fifth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Rhomboid minor · muscular
- Levatores costarum longi · muscular
- Intervertebral disk of fourth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Rhomboid major (FMA13381). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
- 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.