Where it is
On the sides of the thorax, behind the shoulder blade, from the loin to the upper arm.
- Layer
- Muscles
- System
- Muscles
- Region
- Trunk
What it is and what it does
A broad muscular sheet that arises from the thoracolumbar fascia (the lumbar and last thoracic vertebrae, the last ribs) and converges on the teres major tuberosity of the humerus. It pulls the free limb backward and brakes its advance; in the greyhound it is among the muscles that produce most of the mechanical work of acceleration.
Worth remembering
It pulls the front leg backward; in the greyhound it is among the muscles that do most of the work of acceleration.
Names
- Latin term: musculus latissimus dorsi.
- In Romanian: Latissimus dorsi (marele dorsal) (Romanian page).