Pectoralis minor muscle

Last revised by Arlene Campos on 12 Jan 2024

The pectoralis minor muscle is a muscle of the pectoral region lying deep to and completely covered by the pectoralis major muscle

It is an important anatomical landmark in two senses:

  1. it arbitrarily divides the axillary artery into 3 parts

  2. it arbitrarily divides the axillary lymph nodes into 3 levels

Summary

Variant anatomy

  • pre-fixed origin: ribs 2-4

  • post-fixed origin: ribs 4-6

  • absence: seen in Poland syndrome

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