During routine radiological examination of a 72 year-old woman a soft-
tissue shadow in the left posterior triangle of the neck was observed.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of this structure suggested that it
might be a muscular variant: a levator claviculae muscle. In our case
it took origin from the upper part of the cervical column and was inse
rted into the lateral third of the clavicle. With this example as a ba
ckground, the general significance of anatomical muscular variants for
modern imaging techniques is discussed.