Latissimus Dorsi

Function

The latissimus dorsi muscle does the following:

• Adducts the arm at the shoulder.
  This means that the latissimus dorsi muscle moves the upper arm toward the vertical midline of the body (i.e. the action of pulling your arms in to your sides).



• Extends the arm at the shoulder.
  This means that the latissimus dorsi muscle moves the upper arm downward to the rear.



• Medially rotates the upper arm.
  This means that the latissimus dorsi muscle rotates the upper arm inward around the axis of the bone (i.e. it rotates the upper arm toward the vertical midline of the body).

Common Name(s)

"lats"