Interspinales !
The interspinales are short muscles between neighbouring spinous processes, mainly in the neck and lower back; they help straighten the spine.
Official name: Interspinales muscles
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What it is
Short muscles between neighbouring spinous processes, mainly in the neck and lower back.
What it does
Help straighten the spine and sense its position.
Key facts
- Origin
- Spinous process below; paired, mainly cervical and lumbar (sparse in thoracic)
- Insertion
- Spinous process of the vertebra above
- Action
- Assist extension; stabilise; proprioception
- Nerve
- Medial branches of dorsal rami (segmental)
- Blood supply
- Dorsal branches of segmental arteries (deep cervical, posterior intercostal, lumbar)
Relations
- Medial
- Interspinous ligament, between the right and left muscle of each pair
- Superficial
- Supraspinous ligament in the trunk, nuchal ligament in the neck
- Lateral
- Multifidus and, in the neck, semispinalis cervicis
How to find it
Not felt as separate muscles. They lie in the gaps between the tips of adjacent spinous processes, gaps that open when the person bends forward.
On imaging
Not told apart on routine imaging; sagittal MRI shows the interspinous space they share with the interspinous ligament. In a flexion–distraction injury, fat-suppressed MRI shows bright oedema between the spinous processes, a sign of posterior ligamentous complex damage; radiographs may show a widened gap. In Baastrup disease, touching spinous processes have fluid between them.
Common problems
- Shrinks and fills with fat in chronic low back pain, sometimes only at the painful level.
- Is stripped or split from the bone in open posterior spine surgery; muscle-sparing approaches try to protect it.
How it is diagnosed
MRI or ultrasound shows its size and fat content.
Treatment
- Targeted exercise (motor control training) to retrain the deep stabilisers.
Clinical notes
- A midline lumbar puncture needle passes through the supraspinous and interspinous ligaments between the paired interspinales, then the ligamentum flavum
- Divided with the interspinous ligament in laminectomy and when interspinous spacers or wiring are placed
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What do the interspinales connect, and where are they clearest?
Neighbouring spinous processes; clearest in the neck (from C2 down) and lower back, often absent in the mid-thoracic spine.
What structure lies between the right and left interspinales of each pair?
The interspinous ligament.
Which layers does a midline lumbar puncture needle cross at the level of the interspinales?
The supraspinous and interspinous ligaments between the paired interspinales, then the ligamentum flavum.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- musculi interspinales TA2 2290
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Músculos interespinosos DeCS D064170
- English (TA2)
- Interspinales muscles
Related
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); DeCS; Anatomy, Back.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
