Rhomboid minor at a glance
- What it is
- A small muscle lying above rhomboid major.
- Location
- Originates from the ligamentum nuchae and the spinous processes of C7 and T1 and inserts onto the medial border of the scapula at the root of the spine.
- Function
- Retracts and rotates the scapula to lower the glenoid cavity and fixes the scapula to the chest wall.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA13383 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: dorsal scapular nerve (C4–C5)
- Blood supply: dorsal scapular artery
Structures next to the rhomboid minor
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Splenius cervicis · muscular
- Iliocostalis cervicis · muscular
- Longissimus cervicis · muscular
- Serratus posterior superior · muscular
- Semispinalis cervicis · muscular
- Superior intercostal vein · cardiovascular
- Third thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Second thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Fourth thoracic vertebra · skeletal
- Transverse part of trapezius · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Rhomboid minor (FMA13383). 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.