Accurate morphology of the semispinalis capitis muscle (915.13)

The semispinalis capitis muscle is found in the posterior neck. The majority of anatomy textbooks and atlases depict this muscle as containing two bellies of muscle with a linear intervening white tendinous band that neatly separates the muscle into upper and lower parts. We dissected the posterior neck and upper back of sixteen cadavers to isolate this muscle and gain better clarification of this muscle’s appearance. Instead of what is commonly depicted in most anatomy books, we found that its intervening tendon is not linear. The tendon consists of multiple distinct parts that are commonly disconnected and lie either superior or inferior to each other.