Muscle · Neck

Posterior scalene

Musculus scalenus posterior

The posterior scalene is the smallest and deepest-lying of the three, running from the lower neck vertebrae down to the outer surface of the second rib. It side-bends the neck and raises the second rib during inspiration. It is the least accessible of the group — it sits behind the middle scalene and in front of levator scapulae — and it is often blended with the middle scalene rather than clearly separate. Like the other two it belongs to the accessory breathing muscles that over-work when breathing is shallow and driven from the neck rather than the diaphragm.