Muscles of the arm and shoulder: want to learn more about it?
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Muscles of the arm and shoulder
Learning objectives
This study unit will help you to:
- Identify and name the muscles of the arm and shoulder and learn how they are arranged in groups.
- Learn the attachments and innervation patterns for all these muscles.
- Understand the anatomical relationships between muscles of the arm and shoulder
Watch videos
The muscles of the arm and shoulder occupy the proximal portion of the upper limb. Acting on the shoulder and elbow joints, these muscles ensure the mobility of the upper limb relative to the trunk. The shoulder and arm muscles are further subdivided into smaller groups:
- The muscles of the shoulder, often defined as the scapulohumeral muscles, gather four components: the deltoid muscle, the teres major muscle, and the muscles of the rotator cuff. The latter includes four muscles: the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. All these muscles enable the movements and stabilize the shoulder joint.
- The muscles of the arm are divided into anterior and posterior compartments. Depending on the muscle attachments they act on the shoulder and/or elbow joint, either as flexors (anterior group) or extensors (posterior group) of the arm and/or forearm.
The following video tutorials will help you to learn the anatomy of the muscles of the arm and shoulder.
Take a quiz
Now that you learned all you need to know about the muscles of the arm and shoulder, check your knowledge by taking our quiz.
To adjust your focus and choose the topics you’ll get quizzed on, try out our customizable quiz:
Browse atlas
Revise everything that you have learned about these muscles by browsing through our atlas gallery:
Summary
Muscles of the shoulder (scapulohumeral muscles) | Deltoid muscle Teres major muscle Rotator cuff: Supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis |
Muscles of the arm |
Anterior compartment: Biceps brachii, coracobrachialis, brachialis Posterior compartment: Triceps brachii, anconeus |
Well done!
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Continue your learning
Now that you are familiar with the muscles of the arm and shoulder, you can continue learning by spreading your knowledge about muscles of the upper limb: