Abstract

This chapter describes the bony structures of the proximal humerus. The proximal humerus is often regarded as consisting of four parts, which assists in understanding function and, more specially, describes the essential parts in reconstruction after fracture or in joint replacement. These are the humeral head, the lesser and greater tuberosity and the humeral shaft. As the gleno-humeral joint has a large arc of motion but minimal osseous stability, the capsular, ligamentous restraints and dynamic muscular stabilisers are critical to maintain stability. The humeral head is well vascularised, but prone to avascular necrosis following a fracture.

Keywords

Humerus Proximal Bone Anatomy Vascularisation Shoulder 

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Copyright information

© ISAKOS 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Orthopedics, Sports Medicne CenterUniversity Medical Centre Groningen, University of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands

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