Greater tubercle
bony projection on the proximal end of the humerus
The greater tubercle of the humerus is the outward part the upper end of that bone, adjacent to the large rounded prominence of the humerus head. It provides attachment points for the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles, three of the four muscles of the rotator cuff, a muscle group that stabilizes the shoulder joint. In doing so the tubercle acts as a location for the transfer of forces from the rotator cuff muscles to the humerus.
Structure
The upper surface of the greater tubercle is rounded, and marked by three flat impressions:
the highest ("superior facet") gives insertion to the supraspinatus muscle.
the middle ("middle facet") gives insertion to the infraspinatus muscle.
the lowest ("inferior facet"), and the body of the bone for about 2.5 cm, gives insertion to the teres minor muscle.
The lateral surface of the greater tubercle is convex, rough, and continuous with the lateral surface of the body of the humerus. It can be described as having a cranial and a caudal part.
Between the greater tubercle and the lesser tubercle is the bicipital groove (intertubercular sulcus).
Function
All three of the muscles that attach to the greater tubercle are part of the rotator cuff, a muscle group that stabilizes the shoulder joint.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Greater tubercle” is bony projection on the proximal end of the humerus. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Greater, tubercle and bony, not as a finished interpretation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Greater tubercle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.