:^72 THE MYOLOGY OF THE RAYEN. 



tliis portion is the digastrique or hiventer capitis of 

 Cuvier" {Anat. of Verts., vol. ii. p. 88). 



These muscles are also present in the Eaptorial hirds. 

 128. The longus colli posticus is, on either side, a com- 

 plicated muscle extending the entire length of the back 

 of the neck, from its base at the anterior portion of the 

 dorsum, to its final insertion upon the vertehra dentata. 

 It arises by a thin sheet of tendon from the mar- 

 ginal edges of the summits of the neural spines of 

 the first two leading dorsal vertebrae. This sheet of 

 tendon appears to be in continuation with the tendon 

 of orio"in of the longissimus dorsi, and like it is irregu- 

 larly split up into narrow little ril)bonlets of varying 

 wddth, and some five or six in numl)er. 



This tendinous origin of the longus colli posticus soon 

 becomes muscular as it advances up the neck, and as a 

 lono-, somewhat narrow, flattened muscle it extends the 

 entire length of this part, to become finally inserted 

 into the transverse process of the axis vertebra. 



From the under side of this muscle, at its dorsal 

 extremity, it throws down certain fleshy fasciculi. The 

 first or most posterior one of these blends with the 

 muscular portion of the longissimus dorsi. Then 

 follow six well-defined slips, each flattened from before 

 backwards, and each becoming narrower as we proceed 

 towards the head. The most anterior fasciculus of this 

 series is the longest, and they progressively become 

 shorter as we proceed towards the thorax. 



Eeo'ardinff the neck from a lateral view, and liftino^ 

 up the longus colli posticus, we observe that these 

 descending fasciculi pass obliquely from the under 

 side of the muscle forwards to their insertions. The 

 first of these latter is the postzygapophysis of that 

 cervical vertebra which supports the shorter pair of 



