Teres major muscle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teres major muscle
Muscles on the dorsum of the scapula, and the Triceps brachii muscle: #3 is Latissimus dorsi muscle
#5 is Teres major muscle
#6 is Teres minor muscle
#7 is Supraspinatus muscle
#8 is Infraspinatus muscle
#13 is long head of Triceps brachii muscle
Surface anatomy of the back. (label for Teres major at upper right.)
Latin musculus teres major
Gray's subject #123 442
Origin posterior aspect of the inferior angle of the scapula
Insertion    medial lip of the intertubercular sulcus of the humerus
Artery: Subscapular and circumflex scapular arteries
Nerve: Lower subscapular nerve (segmental levels C5 and C6)
Action: Internal rotation of the humerus
Dorlands
/Elsevier
m_22/12551115

Teres major is a muscle of the upper limb and one of six scapulohumeral muscles. It is a thick but somewhat flattened muscle.

Contents

[edit] Origin and insertion

It arises from the oval area on the dorsal surface of the inferior angle of the scapula, and from the fibrous septa interposed between the muscle and the Teres minor and Infraspinatus

The fibers of teres major insert into the medial lip of the bicipital groove of the humerus.

[edit] Relations

Posterior view showing the relations between teres major muscle (in red) and the other muscles connecting the upper extremity to the vertebral column.
Posterior view showing the relations between teres major muscle (in red) and the other muscles connecting the upper extremity to the vertebral column.

The tendon, at its insertion, lies behind that of the Latissimus dorsi, from which it is separated by a bursa, the two tendons being, however, united along their lower borders for a short distance.

Together with teres minor muscle, teres major muscle forms the axillary space, where several important arteries and veins pass through.

[edit] Action

The Teres major assists the Latissimus dorsi in drawing the previously raised humerus downward and backward, and in rotating it inward; when the arm is fixed it may assist the Pectorales and the Latissimus dorsi in drawing the trunk forward.

[edit] Additional images

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.