Deltoid tuberosity

Deltoid tuberosity

Left humerus. Anterior view. (Deltoideus labeled at center right.)
Details
Latin tuberositas deltoidea humeri
Identifiers
Gray's p.211
Dorlands
/Elsevier
t_21/12829141
TA A02.4.04.020
FMA 23418
Anatomical terms of bone

In human anatomy, the deltoid tuberosity is a rough, triangular[1] area on the anterolateral (front-side) surface of the middle of the humerus to which the deltoid muscle attaches. [2]

Variation

It has been reported as very prominent in less than 10% of cases. [3]

Development

The deltoid tuberosity develops through endochondral ossification in a two-phase process. The initiating signal is tendon-dependent, whilst the growth phase is muscle-dependent. [4]

Evolutionary variation

In mammals, the humerus displays a wide morphological variation. The size and orientation of its functionally important features, including the deltoid tubercle, greater tubercle, and medial epicondyle, are pivotal to an animal's style of locomotion and habitat. In cursorial (running) animals such as the Pronghorn, the deltoid tubercle is located about a quarter of the way down the shaft, which allows for rapid but relatively weak limb flexion and extension. In natatorial (swimming) animals such as the North American River Otter, the tubercle is located nearly halfway down the shaft, which allows for powerful limb flexion and extension. The tuberosity can be very pronounced in fossorial (digging) animals, such as the Mountain Beaver. [5]

See also

References

  1. Gray, Henry (1918). Gray's Anatomy. ISBN 1-85958-018-1. (See link in infobox.)
  2. Feneis, Heinz (2000). Pocket Atlas of Human Anatomy (4th ed.). Thieme. p. 36. ISBN 3-13-511204-7.
  3. Fink-Bennett D, Vicuna-Rios J. (1980). "The deltoid tuberosity--a potential pitfall (the "delta sign") in bone-scan interpretation: concise communication". The Journal of Nuclear Medicine 21 (3): 211–212. ...in seven out of 100 scans reviewed.
  4. Blitz E et al. (December 2009). "Bone ridge patterning during musculoskeletal assembly is mediated through SCX regulation of Bmp4 at the tendon-skeleton junction". Dev Cell 6 (17): 861–73. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2009.10.010. PMC 3164485. PMID 20059955.
  5. Hall, Brian Keith (2007). Fins into limbs: evolution, development, and transformation. University of Chicago Press. p. 251. ISBN 0-226-31337-9. (Including an illustration of variation in mammalian humeri.)