Muscle · Head

Obliquus capitis superior

Musculus obliquus capitis superior

Obliquus capitis superior runs from the tip of the transverse process of the atlas upward and backward to the skull, between the two nuchal lines. It extends the head and side-bends it toward the same side. It forms the upper lateral border of the suboccipital triangle — the small deep space crossed by the vertebral artery and the first cervical nerve — and like the rest of the group it is built for fine control of head position rather than for force.