ANTERIOR VERTEBRAL REGION. 345 



face of the transverse process of the atlas, and is inserted into the under surface 

 of the jugular process of the occipital bone. 



Relations. By its anterior surface, with the internal jugular vein. By its 

 posterior surface, with the vertebral artery. 



Fijr. 225. The Pre-vertebral Muscles. 



The Longus Colli is a long, flat muscle, situated on the anterior surface of 

 the spine, between the atlas and the third dorsal vertebra. It is broad in the 

 middle, narrow and pointed at each extremity, and consists of three portions, 

 of a superior oblique, an inferior oblique, and a vertical portion. The superior 

 oblique portion arises from the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of 

 the third, fourth, and fifth cervical vertebrae ; and, ascending obliquely inwards, 

 is inserted by a narrow tendon into the tubercle on the anterior arch of the 

 atlas. The inferior oblique portion, the smallest part of the muscle, arises from 

 the bodies of the first two or -three dorsal vertebrae ; and, passing obliquely 

 outwards, is inserted into the transverse processes of the fifth and sixth cervical 

 vertebrae. 



The vertical portion lies directly on the front of the spine, and is extended 

 between the bodies of the lower three cervical and the upper three dorsal ver- 

 tebrse below, and the bodies of the second, third, and fourth cervical vertebras 

 above. 



Relations. By its anterior surface, with the pharynx, the oesophagus, sym- 

 pathetic nerve, the sheath of the great vessels of the neck, the inferior thyroid 

 artery, and recurrent laryngeal nerve. By its posterior surface, with the cervical 

 and dorsal portions of the spine. Its inner border is separated from the opposite 

 muscle by a considerable interval below, but they approach each other above. 



