SECOND SECTION · THIRD CHAPTER · THIRD SUBSECTION · First Article
First Article
It describes the muscles of the lower back.
O noble one! It should be known that the scholars of anatomy have said as follows: Some of the muscles that move the spine pull it toward the front, and some bend it toward the back.
The other movements of the lower back also arise from these two movements.
The muscles that pull the spine toward the front are two pairs. One pair is located at the upper part.
This muscle is known among the muscles that move the neck and the head. This pair of muscles passes on both sides of the esophagus, with its lower part attached to the first five vertebrae, and its upper part reaching the neck and head. Beneath this, another pair of muscles is located, which are called the emerging muscles. Both of these originate from the tenth and eleventh thoracic vertebrae, descend downward, and bend the spine considerably toward the side of the muscles.
The muscles that bend the spine toward the back are two, and they are called the spinal muscles. Each consists of twenty-three muscles. For, to each of these two muscles, except for the first vertebra, a slanting, fibrous muscle comes from the other vertebrae; with moderate contraction of these muscles, the spine assumes an upright position. If they pull more strongly, they bend the spine backward. If only the muscles on one side move and contract, then the spine bends to the other side. The muscles described here are also sufficient for the other intermediate movements of the spine. For, in the bending of the spine to every side and in its turning forward and backward, the movements of these muscles have been deemed sufficient.
“We declare the Wise Creator free from all deficiency.”