Shoulder Flashcards
Articular structures
Degrees of Freedom??
Number of Joints??
the proximal joint of the upper limb
most mobile of all the joints in the human body
three degrees of freedom and this permits movement of the upper limb with respect to the three planes in space and the three major axes.
It is make up of Five (5) joints. These five joints fall into two groups.
First group of two joints
- The shoulder or scapulo-humeral joint, which is a true joint anatomically. It is the most important joint of this group.
- The subdeltoid ‘joint’ or ‘the second shoulder joint’. This is not an anatomical but a physiological joint, as it consists of two surfaces sliding with respect to each other. The subdeltoid ‘joint’ is mechanically linked to the shoulder joint because any movement in the latter brings about movement in the former.
Scapulo-humeral joint
These are spherical surfaces, typical of a ball-and-socket joint, which has three axes and three degrees of freedom.
during abduction to 50 o, rotation of the humeral head occurs around a point located somewhere within circle Cl.
- the end of abduction (from 50 o to 90o), the centre of rotation lies within circle C2,
- about 50 o abduction, there is a discontinuity in the movement so that the centre of rotation now lies supe-rior and medial to the humeral head
Scapulo-humeral joint:
The head of the humerus
Facing superiorly, medially and posteriorly it corresponds to 1/3 of a sphere 3 cm in radius.
vertical diameter is 3 to 4 mm greater than its posterior diameter.
Its axis forms with the axis of the shaft an angle of 135° (the neck-shaft angle) and with the frontal plane an angle of 30° (the retrotorsion angle).
It is separated from the rest of the superior epiphysis of the humerus by the anatomical neck which makes an angle of 45° with the horizontal plane.
It bears two tuberosities, which receive the insertions of the periarticular muscles:
- the lesser tuberosity pointing anteriorly
- the greater tuberosity pointing laterally
Scapulo-humeral joint:
The glenoid cavity of the scapula
It lies at the supero-Iateral angle of the scapula and points laterally, anteriorly and slightly superiorly.
It is biconcave vertically and transversely but its concavity is irregular and less marked than the convexity of the humeral head.
Its margin is slightly raised and is grooved anteroposteriorly. The glenoid cavity is much smaller than the head of the humerus.
Scapulo-humeral joint:
The glenoid labrum
This is a ring of Fibro-cartilage attached to the margin of the glenoid cavity and bridging the ante-rosuperior groove.
It widens the cavity only slightly but deepens it appreciably so as to make the articular surfaces more congruent.
Second group of three joints:
- The scapulo-thoracic ‘joint’. This is also a physiological and not an anatomical joint. It is the most important joint of this group, although it cannot function without the other two, which are mechanically linked to it.
- The acromio-clavicular joint is a true joint
- The sterno-clavicular joint, a true joint, located at the sternal end of the clavicle The sternoclavicular joint is the only joint that connects the upper extremity directly with the thorax. The enlarged sternal end of the clavicle and the articular notch of the sternum are separated by an articular disk. The clavicles are connected to each other by the interclavicular ligaments, to the sternum by the anterior and posterior sternoclavicular ligaments, and to the first ribs by the costoclavicular ligaments. The two surfaces are saddle-shaped.
The sternoclavicular joint,
This joint has two axes and two degrees of freedom:
- axis 1 corresponds to the concavity of the clavicular surface and allows movements of the clavicle in the horizontal plane
- axis 2 corresponds to the concavity of the sternocostal surface and allows movements of the clavicle in the vertical plane
The Subdeltoid “joint”
- The lower surface is composed of the humeral head and rotator cuff.
- The upper surface is composed of the inner portion of the deltoid muscle.
- Inside there are the sub-deltoid bursa.
The Scapulo-thoracic ‘joint’
Two ‘spaces’ of this false joint:
The ‘space’ between the scapula and the serratus muscle:
- posteriorly and laterally, by the scapula, covered by the subscapularis muscle.
- anteriorly and medially, by the serratus anterior muscle arising from the medial border of the scapula and inserted into the antero-Iateral border of the thorax.
The ‘space’ between the thoracic wall and the serratus muscle:
- medially and anteriorly, by the thoracic wall (ribs and intercostal muscles).
- posteriorly and laterally, by the serratus anterior.
The scapula in its normal position stretches from the second to the seventh rib. Its supero-medial angle corresponds to the first thoracic vertebra. Its inferior angle corresponds to the seventh or eighth thoracic spine. Medial extremity of the spine of the scapula corresponds to the third thoracic spine. The medial or spinal border of the scapula lies 5 to 6 cm lateral to the thoracic spines.
The Acromioclavicular Joint
a single arthrodial joint involving the medial margin of the acromion and the acromial end of the clavicle.
coracohumeral ligament
crosses from the coracoid process of the scapula
to the greater and lesser tuberosities of the humerus, where it forms a tunnel for the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii
Capsular ligaments
- The superior, middle, and inferior glenohumeral
- ligaments arise from the glenoid and its labrum, form capsular thickenings, and attach to the humeral neck and lesser tuberosity
- The coracohumeral, superior, and middle glenohumeral ligaments support the dependent (hanging down) arm and limit external rotation in the lower ranges of abduction
The Biceps tendon
- The tendon of the long head of the biceps arises from the supra-glenoid tubercle and the superior margin of the glenoid labrum.
- As it emerges from the joint cavity in the bicipital groove it passes deep to the capsule
- Its two heads are crucial in maintaining the coaptation of the articular surfaces of the shoulder
- The short head, resting on the coracoid process, lifts the humerus relative to the scapula and, along with the other longitudinal muscles (triceps, coracobrachialis and deltoid), prevents its downward dislocation.
- The long head of the biceps presses the humeral head against the glenoid, especially during abduction, since the long head of the biceps is also an abductor.
- Following its rupture there is a 20% drop in the strength of abduction
Muscular structures (general)
The shoulder region muscles are divided into three groups for study:
- Muscles connecting the shoulder girdle with the trunk, the neck and the skull
- Muscles connecting the scapula and the humerus.
- Muscles connecting the trunk and the humerus, having little or no attachment to the scapula
Muscles From Trunk to Shoulder Girdle:
- Serratus anterior
- Trapezius
- Rhomboid Major and Minor
- Pectoralis Minor
- Levator Scapulae
Muscles connecting the scapula and the humerus.
- Deltoid
- Supraspinatus
- Infraspihatus
- Teres Minor
- Subscapualris
- Teres Major
- Pectoralis Major
Muscles connecting the trunk and the humerus, having little or no attachment to the scapula
Latissiumus Dorsi
Serratus anterior
From: the anterolateral aspect of the thorax, from the first to the ninth rib
To: the medial border of the scapula
Function: Abduction and upward rotation of the scapula