la·tis·si·mus dor·si (l -t s  -ms dôrs )n. A muscle with origin from the spinous processes of the lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, the median ridge of the sacrum, and the outer lip of the iliac crest, with insertion into the humerus, with nerve supply from the thoracodorsal nerve, and whose action adducts the arm, rotates it medially, and extends it. |
latissimus dorsi
[latis′iməs dôr′sī]
Etymology: L, widest, dorsum, the back
one of a pair of large triangular muscles on the thoracic and lumbar areas of the back. The base of the triangle inserts through lumbar aponeuroses to the spines of lumbar and sacral vertebrae and in the supraspinous ligaments, posterior iliac crest, and the lower four ribs. The fibers of the muscle twist as they pass the scapula and converge at the base of the intertubercular groove of the humerus. The latissimus dorsi extends, adducts, and rotates the arm medially; draws the shoulder back and down; and, with the pectoralis major, draws the body up when climbing. It is innervated by the thoracodorsal nerve. Compare levator scapulae, rhomboideus major, rhomboideus minor, trapezius.
latissimus
[L.] widest, a broad structure.
latissimus dorsi
the broad muscle of the back that serves to retract the forelimb.
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