Supraspinatus

Musculus supraspinatus

MuscularDeep musclesThoraxLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is
Rotator-cuff muscle filling the supraspinous fossa above the spine of the scapula; its tendon runs under the acromion and over the top of the shoulder joint to the superior facet of the greater tubercle of the humerus.
Function
Initiates abduction of the arm (first ~15°) and holds the humeral head in the glenoid.
Size
About 12 cm long, up to 3 cm thick in the fossa; tendon ~2.5 cm wide.
Clinical note
The most commonly torn rotator-cuff tendon; pinched under the acromion in impingement, giving a "painful arc" between about 60° and 120° of abduction.

Nearby muscular structures Caval opening of the diaphragm, Infraspinatus, Pectoralis major, Pectoralis minor, Rhomboid major, Rhomboid minor, Serratus anterior, Subscapularis, Teres major, Teres minor