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STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID MUSCLE
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
One of two thick muscles running from the sternum and clavicle to the mastoid and occipital bone; turns head obliquely to the opposite side; when acting together they flex the neck and extend the head
Synonyms:
musculus sternocleidomastoideus; sternocleido mastoideus; sternocleidomastoid; sternocleidomastoid muscle
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("sternocleidomastoid muscle" is a kind of...):
skeletal muscle; striated muscle (a muscle that is connected at either or both ends to a bone and so move parts of the skeleton; a muscle that is characterized by transverse stripes)
Holonyms ("sternocleidomastoid muscle" is a part of...):
cervix; neck (the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body)