Display options
Cite
Cooper DE, O'Brien SJ, Arnoczky SP, et al. The structure and function of the coracohumeral ligament: An anatomic and microscopic study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2009;2(2):70-7doi: 10.1016/1058-2746(93)90003-Y.
Cooper, D. E., O'Brien, S. J., Arnoczky, S. P., & Warren, R. F. (1993). The structure and function of the coracohumeral ligament: An anatomic and microscopic study. Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery, 2(2), 70-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/1058-2746(93)90003-Y
Cooper, D E, et al. "The structure and function of the coracohumeral ligament: An anatomic and microscopic study." Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery vol. 2,2 (1993): 70-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/1058-2746(93)90003-Y
Cooper DE, O'Brien SJ, Arnoczky SP, Warren RF. The structure and function of the coracohumeral ligament: An anatomic and microscopic study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 1993 Mar;2(2):70-7. doi: 10.1016/1058-2746(93)90003-Y. Epub 2009 Feb 25. PMID: 22971672.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 1993 Mar;2(2):70-7. doi: 10.1016/1058-2746(93)90003-Y. Epub 2009 Feb 25.

The structure and function of the coracohumeral ligament: An anatomic and microscopic study.

Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery

D E Cooper, S J O'Brien, S P Arnoczky, R F Warren

Affiliations

  1. From the Hospital for Special Surgery, Cornell University Medical College, New York, N.Y.

PMID: 22971672 DOI: 10.1016/1058-2746(93)90003-Y

Abstract

Twelve fresh-frozen cadaver shoulders were dissected to study the anatomy and histology of the coracohumeral ligament. Based on the gross and microscopic anatomy, the ligament was found in three variations. In the most common pattern (nine of 12 specimens), the coracohumeral ligament represented a folded portion of glenohumeral joint capsule in the rotator interval between subscapularis and supraspinatus. Because of its inverted "v"-shaped origin from the coracoid base, tension on this structure creates the appearance of a prominent ligamentous structure. However, histologic cross-sections of this pattern of coracohumeral ligament reveal that it is lined by synovium on its undersurface and contains no discretely organized collagen bundles representative of a ligament. The second pattern (two of 12 specimens) was similar, except that the capsular reflection representing the ligament was fused together, giving the structure a more clearly definable anterior edge. In only one specimen was the ligament a truly ligamentous structure. In its normal state the coracohumeral ligament usually appears as a capsular reflection on the coracoid base, and though it courses toward the superior aspect of the intertubercular groove, it is not a true ligamentous structure. These findings support the position of those authors who state that the coracohumeral ligament is unlikely to play a significant role as a suspensory structure in its physiologic state.

Copyright © 1993 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Publication Types