Click on the structure to specify the target of your label
![]() |
01 | ![]() |
Longus capitis
Other Terms:
Musculus longus capitis,
Muscle long de la tête
Muscle parts
None
Latin name
Musculus longus capitis
Latin muscle parts
None
Group
Cervical wall – subvertebral muscle
Etymology
In English, this muscle’s name is the long muscle of the head. Longus is the Latin term for “long.”The word capitis comes from the Latin caput meaning “head.”
Insertion
Inferior surface of the basioccipital bone
Origin
Anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of C3, C4, C5, and C6
Action
Flexes the head.
Nerve supply
Branches of the cervical ventral rami (C1, C2, and C3)
Blood supply
The muscle receives blood from the ascending cervical artery, which is a small branch of the inferior thyroid artery from the thyrocervical trunk of the subclavian artery. It also receives blood from the ascending pharyngeal artery.
Latin
Musculus longus capitis
French
Muscle long de la tête