Muscle · Neck

Rectus capitis lateralis

Musculus rectus capitis lateralis

A short quadrilateral muscle running straight upwards from the transverse process of the first vertebra to the jugular process of the skull, sitting just to the side of the joint between them. Its line of pull tips the head sideways at that joint and steadies it there — a small side-to-side balancing movement rather than the broad side-bend of the whole neck. In pattern it is a segmental muscle of the same family as the small muscles that run between the transverse processes further down the neck, carried up to the skull because the atlas is the last vertebra in the series. The internal jugular vein lies directly in front of it as the vein leaves the skull through the jugular foramen, so the muscle sits immediately behind that exit.