[splee-nee-uh
s] 
[-nee-ahy] . Anatomy. | a broad muscle on each side of the back of the neck and the upper part of the thoracic region, the action of which draws the head backward and assists in turning it to one side. |
| sple·ni·us (splē'nē-əs) n. pl. sple·ni·i (-nē-ī') Either of two muscles of the back of the neck, extending from the upper vertebrae to the base of the skull, that rotate and extend the head and neck. [New Latin splēnius, from Latin splēnium, patch, plaster (from its shape), from Greek splēnion, from splēn, spleen.] sple'ni·al (-nē-əl) adj. |