A note on the anatomy of the supraspinatus muscle.

The muscles and tendons of the rotator cuff of 37 fixed cadaver shoulder joints were dissected. In ten shoulder joints devoid of gross pathological lesions it was found that the supraspinatus muscle was inserted at two points--mainly into the major tubercle and partly into the lesser tubercle of the humerus. In one case of six, an additional insertion clearly occurred in a shoulder joint with rotator cuff tear.