Name the 17 muscles that attach to the scapula

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A Moment in History

Georg Eduard Von Rindfleisch
(1836 – 1908)

German pathologist and histologist of Bavarian nobility ancestry. Rindfleisch studied medicine in Würzburg, Berlin, and Heidelberg, earning his MD in 1859 with the thesis “De Vasorum Genesi” (on the generation of vessels) under the tutelage of Rudolf Virchow (1821 - 1902). He then continued as a assistant to Virchow in a newly founded institute in Berlin. He then moved to Breslau in 1861 as an assistant to Rudolf Heidenhain (1834–1897), becoming a professor of pathological anatomy. In 1865 he became full professor in Bonn and in 1874 in Würzburg, where a new pathological institute was built according to his design (completed in 1878), where he worked until his retirement in 1906.

He was the first to describe the inflammatory background of multiple sclerosis in 1863, when he noted that demyelinated lesions have in their center small vessels that are surrounded by a leukocyte inflammatory infiltrate.

After extensive investigations, he suspected an infectious origin of tuberculosis - even before Robert Koch's detection of the tuberculosis bacillus in 1892. Rindfleisch 's special achievement is the description of the morphologically conspicuous macrophages in typhoid inflammation. His distinction between myocardial infarction and myocarditis in 1890 is also of lasting importance.

Associated eponyms

"Rindfleisch's folds": Usually a single semilunar fold of the serous surface of the pericardium around the origin of the aorta. Also known as the plica semilunaris aortæ.

"Rindfleisch's cells": Historical (and obsolete) name for eosinophilic leukocytes.

Personal note: G. Rindfleisch’s book “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” 2nd edition (1873) is now part of my library. This book was translated from German to French by Dr. Frédéric Gross (1844-1927) , Associate Professor of the Medicine Faculty in Nancy, France. The book is dedicated to Dr. Theodore Billroth (1829-1894), an important surgeon whose pioneering work on subtotal gastrectomies paved the way for today’s robotic bariatric surgery. Dr. Miranda.

Sources:
1. "Stedmans Medical Eponyms" Forbis, P.; Bartolucci, SL; 1998 Williams and Wilkins
2. "Rindfleisch, Georg Eduard von (bayerischer Adel?)" Deutsche Biographie
3. "The pathology of multiple sclerosis and its evolution" Lassmann H. (1999) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 354 (1390): 1635–40.
4. “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” G.E.
Rindfleisch 2nd Ed (1873) Ballieres et Fils. Paris, Translated by F Gross

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Name the 17 muscles that attach to the scapula

Published: Monday, October 24, 2022 07:00 | Written by: Efrain A. Miranda, Ph.D. | Hits: 35839

Anterior view of the left scapula.

UPDATED: The scapula is a flat, triangular bone that forms the posterior portion of the shoulder girdle. It is described with two surfaces, three borders, and three angles. The scapula attaches to the clavicle by way of the acromioclavicular joint and ligaments. . Seventeen muscles attach to the scapula and are listed here alphabetically:

1. Biceps brachii
2. Coracobrachialis
3. Deltoid
4. Infraspinatus
5. Latissimus dorsi
6. Levator scapulae
7. Omohyoid (inferior belly)
8. Pectoralis minor
9. Rhomboid major
10. Rhomboid minor
11. Serratus anterior
12. Subscapularis
13. Supraspinatus
14. Teres major
15. Teres minor
16. Trapezius
17. Triceps brachii (long head)

By surfaces, borders, and structures, these muscles group and attach as follows:

Posterior surface:
1. Supraspinatus
2. Infraspinatus
3. Teres major
4. Teres minor

Scapular spine and acromion:
5. Trapezius
6. Deltoid

Anterior surface:
7. Subscapularis
8. Serratus anterior

Medial border:
8. Serratus anterior
9. Rhomboid major
10. Rhomboid minor
11. Levator scapulae

Superior border:
12. Omohyoid (inferior belly)

Medial border:
13. Triceps brachii (long head)

External angle:
14. Biceps brachii (long head)

Coracoid process:
14. Biceps brachii (short head)
15. Coracobrachialis
16. Pectoralis minor

Inferior angle:
17. Latissimus dorsi

Note: Because the long and the short head of the biceps brachii attach to different locations of the scapula, some authors and Internet websites say that there are 18 muscles that attach to the scapula. I do not agree, as the biceps brachii is a single muscle that happens to have two separate attachments to the scapula. It would be different if this article was titled "Name the 18 separate muscular attachment points of the scapula". Dr. Miranda

Sources:
1. "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
2. "Gray's Anatomy" 38th British Ed. Churchill Livingstone 1995
Image in the Public Domain, by Henry Vandyke Carter - Gray's Anatomy