pectoralis major
Sign in to saveAlso known as pectoralis major muscle, main human chest muscle, pecs
main human chest muscle
In the Vinony graph
Vinony's link graph records 334 inbound references to pectoralis major, and connects out to anatomical terms of motion, Latin and magnetic resonance imaging.
It is catalogued under topics including Muscles of the upper limb, Shoulder abductors and Shoulder adductors.
Vinony links it to 40 Wikipedia language editions.
Key facts
- Pronunciation
- / ˌ p ɛ k t ə ˈ r eɪ l ɪ s ˈ m eɪ dʒ ər / PEK -tər- AY -liss MAY -jər
- Origin
- Clavicular head : anterior surface of the medial half of the clavicle ., Sternocostal head : anterior surface of the sternum , the superior six costal cartilages , and the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle
- Insertion
- Lateral lip of the bicipital groove of the humerus , (anteromedial proximal humerus)
- Artery
- Pectoral branch of the thoracoacromial trunk
- Nerve
- Lateral pectoral nerve and medial pectoral nerve , Clavicular head : C5 and C6 , Sternocostal head : C7 , C8 and T1
- Actions
- Clavicular head : flexes the humerus Sternocostal head : horizontal and vertical adduction , extension , and internal rotation of the humerus, Depression and abduction of the scapula.
- Antagonist
- Deltoid muscle , trapezius
- Latin
- musculus pectoralis major
- Ta98
- A04.4.01.002
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Pectoralis major.png
Show 5 more facts
- Commons category
- Pectoralis major muscle
- innervated by
- Lateral pectoral nerve
- arterial supply
- superior thoracic artery
- muscle origin
- Rectus sheath
- muscle insertion
- intertubercular sulcus of the humerus
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The pectoralis major (from Latin pectus 'breast') is a thick, fan-shaped or triangular convergent muscle of the human chest. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies under the breast. Beneath the pectoralis major is the pectoralis minor muscle.
The pectoralis major arises from parts of the clavicle and sternum, costal cartilages of the true ribs, and the aponeurosis of the abdominal external oblique muscle; it inserts onto the lateral lip of the bicipital groove. It receives double motor innervation from the medial pectoral nerve and the lateral pectoral nerve. The pectoralis major's primary functions are flexion, adduction, and internal rotation of the humerus. The pectoral major may colloquially be referred to as "pecs", "pectoral muscle", or "chest muscle", because it is the largest and most superficial muscle in the chest area.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “pectoralis major” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.