Subclavius muscle

Hey, everyone. It’s Matt from Kenhub. And in this tutorial, we will discuss the subclavius muscle.

The subclavius muscle, in Latin, “Musculus subclavius,” is a short muscle of the shoulder girdle.

It originates at the first rib, the border between the bone and cartilage,

And inserts at the lower surface of the lateral clavicle.

It is positioned behind the pectoralis major.

The brachial plexus and both the subclavian artery and vein pass under the subclavius muscle. Due to its location and relatively small size, the muscle is hardly palpable.

The innervation is carried by the subclavian nerve, a branch of the brachial plexus.

The main task of the subclavius muscle is the active stabilization of the clavicle in the sternoclavicular joint during movements of the shoulder and arm.

Furthermore, its contraction leads to a depression of the clavicle and elevation of the first rib respectively.

These movements, however, play a rather subordinate role.