Longus colli muscle

The Longus colli muscle is a muscle of the human body.

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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 vertebræ 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 vertebræ; and, ascending obliquely in a lateral direction, is inserted into the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the fifth and sixth cervical vertebræ.

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

Clinical significance

It is commonly injured in rear end whiplash injuries, usually resulting from a car crash.

This muscle is in front of the spine and is thought by some scientists that it may cause some whiplash patients to have an unnatural lack of curvature in the patients' neck.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.