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Teres major: The latissimus dorsi's BIG helper. Semispinalis capitis: The largest muscle in the posterior neck. 18 19 19. SEMISPINALIS CAPITIS The semispinalis capitis is another underappreciated muscle. It is the largest muscle in the posterior neck, but because it lies deep to the upper trapezius, it is often overlooked. In fact, it is common for a tight semispinalis capitis (as well as the deeper semispinalis cervicis) to be mistakenly assessed as a tight upper trapezius or perhaps tight erector spinae musculature (even though there is very little erector spinae musculature in the neck). If you ever have the opportunity to attend a cadaver lab, be sure to look at (and, if possible, palpate) the semispinalis capitis muscle. 18. TERES MAJOR The teres major falls into the category of underappreciated muscles because it is linked with the latissimus dorsi. The teres major lies next to the latissimus dorsi in the posterior axillary fold of tissue. Like the latissimus dorsi, it starts posterior and ends anterior, and shares the same shoulder-joint functions of extension, adduction, and medial rotation. For this reason, the teres major is sometimes referred to as the little helper or little brother to the latissimus dorsi. But there is nothing little about the teres major. In fact, in the posterior axillary fold of tissue, the teres major is larger than the latissimus dorsi. Another reason the size and strength of the teres major are underappreciated is that it attaches to only the lower one-third of the lateral border of the scapula, whereas the teres minor has a broader attachment to the upper two-thirds of the lateral border. Even though the teres major has a smaller expanse of scapular attachment, it is a much larger muscle than the teres minor. The teres major is a large and tremendously strong muscle, and extremely important with shoulder joint function. L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 105 Clavicle Supraspinatus Spine of scapula Acromion process of scapula Infraspinatus Deltoid Teres major Latissimus dorsi (cut) Triceps brachii Semispinalis capitis Semispinalis Cervicis Thoracis Inferior angle of scapula Teres minor