External Oblique

Function

The external oblique muscle does the following:

Laterally flexes the spine.
This means that the external oblique muscle bends the spine to the side (i.e. it moves the ribcage downward to the side towards the pelvis).

Rotates the spine.
This means that the external oblique muscle turns the spine to the side (i.e. it twists the torso).

Compresses the abdominal cavity.
This means that the external oblique muscle constricts the organs of the abdominal cavity and can increase intra-abdominal pressure (i.e. such as during a valsalva maneuver).

Common Name(s)

"obliques"

The muscular anatomy image shown here is in the public domain. It may have been modified by ShapeSense.com, but was originally acquired at the following address:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gray392.png