Description
The suboccipital muscles consist of four short muscles connecting the occipital bone to the first two cervical vertebrae, the atlas and the axis. These muscles include the:
- rectus capitis posterior major muscles;
- rectus capitis posterior minor muscles;
- obliquus capitis inferior muscles;
- obliquus capitis superior muscles.
The suboccipital muscles extend the head. They receive their vascular supply from the vertebral artery and their innervation from the posterior ramus of the first cervical nerve (C1), the suboccipital nerve. Additionally, most of these muscles form the boundaries of the suboccipital triangle.
Related parts of the anatomy
