superior rectus extraocular muscle

The superior rectus muscle is a muscle in the orbit. It is one of the extraocular muscles. It is innervated by the superior division of the oculomotor nerve (Cranial Nerve III). In the primary position (looking straight ahead), the superior rectus muscle's primary function is elevation, although it also contributes to intorsion and adduction. Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the superior rectus extraocular muscle is

The superior rectus muscle is a muscle in the orbit. It is one of the extraocular muscles. It is innervated by the superior division of the oculomotor nerve (Cranial Nerve III). In the primary position (looking straight ahead), the superior rectus muscle's primary function is elevation, although it also contributes to intorsion and adduction. The atlas records it as a muscle at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the superior rectus extraocular muscle is

It sits in the head, within the muscular and sensory systems. Not positioned individually, and containment is not asserted either. Drawn near structures of the same kind, which is a weak claim about location.

What the superior rectus extraocular muscle connects to

The atlas records 3 typed relationships for it, across 2 kinds of connection. a kind of rectus extraocular muscle.

Supply and innervation

Innervation: oculomotor nerve and superior branch of oculomotor nerve.

Also called

Also recorded as dorsal rectus extraocular muscle, m. rectus superior, musculus rectus superior, superior rectus, superior rectus muscle and dorsal recti, and 2 more. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0006323, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

• A kind of: rectus extraocular muscle.
• Innervated by: oculomotor nerve and superior branch of oculomotor nerve.

Questions

Where is the superior rectus extraocular muscle?

It sits in the head, within the muscular and sensory systems. Not positioned individually, and containment is not asserted either. Drawn near structures of the same kind, which is a weak claim about location.

What does the superior rectus extraocular muscle connect to?

A kind of: rectus extraocular muscle.

Is the superior rectus extraocular muscle the same in other species?

Leumas holds the same relationship vocabulary for every species it carries, so where another dataset records this structure you can put the two side by side on /compare.