seˈrād.əs, -räd.əs noun
( plural serra·ti -āˌtī, -äˌtē)
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, serrate
: any of several muscles of the trunk having complex origins but chiefly from the ribs or vertebrae that give them a notched appearance and comprising in man (1) a large muscle arising chiefly from the eight upper ribs and inserted into the vertebral border of the scapula, (2) another arising chiefly from the spinous processes of the last two thoracic and two or three upper lumbar vertebrae and inserted into the four lower ribs, and (3) a muscle arising chiefly from the spinous processes of the last cervical and first and two or three additional thoracic vertebrae and inserted into the second, third, fourth, and fifth ribs — called also respectively (1) serratus mag.nus -ˈmagnəs, serratus anterior, (2) serratus posterior inferior, (3) serratus posterior superior