# What are the lats called?

The lats is called the latissimus dorsi. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as a broad, flat, triangular muscle of the back.

## What it means

- A broad, flat, triangular muscle of the back.
- Its name is Latin for 'broadest of the back'.
- Pulls the arm downward and backward and rotates it inward.

## Action steps

1. Covers the lower half of the back and wraps around the lower ribs.
2. Arises from the lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, and iliac crest.
3. Inserts into the front of the humerus.

## Sources

- [Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918)](https://www.bartleby.com/107/)

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