Levatores costarum muscles

The levatores costarum (/ˌlɛvəˈtɔːriːz kəˈstɛərəm/), twelve in number on either side, are small tendinous and fleshy bundles, which arise from the ends of the transverse processes of the seventh cervical and upper eleven thoracic vertebrae

Levatores costarum muscles
Deep muscles of the back. (Levatores costarum labeled vertically at center left.)
Details
Origin	Transverse processes of C7 to T11 vertebrae
Insertion	Superior surfaces of the ribs immediately inferior to the preceding vertebrae
Nerve	Dorsal rami C8-T11 (Intercostal nerves)
Actions	Assists in elevation of the thoracic rib cage
Identifiers
Latin	musculi levatores costarum
TA98	A04.4.01.009
TA2	2308
FMA	71312
Anatomical terms of muscle [edit on Wikidata]

They pass obliquely downward and laterally, like the fibers of the Intercostales externi, and each is inserted into the outer surface of the rib immediately below the vertebra from which it takes origin, between the tubercle and the angle (Levatores costarum breves).

Each of the four lower muscles divides into two fasciculi, one of which is inserted as above described; the other passes down to the second rib below its origin (Levatores costarum longi).

They have a role in forceful inspiration.^[1]

See also

• Iliocostalis
• Interspinales muscles
• Intertransversarii muscle
• Longissimus
• Spinalis