scapula

Also known as shoulder blade, wing bone, shoulder bone

The scapula (: scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either side of the body being roughly a mirror image of the other. The name derives from the Classical Latin word for trowel or small shovel, which it was thought to resemble.

AI overview

The scapula, commonly called the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects your upper arm bone to your collar bone and forms a key part of your shoulder structure. You have two scapulae (one on each side of your body), and they work together with their connected bones to enable arm movement and shoulder function.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Bone.Name: Scapula
Bone.Latin: scapula (omo)
Bone.Image: Pectoral girdle front diagram.svg
Bone.Image2: Scapula - posterior view2.png
Bone.Caption2: The upper picture is an anterior (from the front) view of the thorax and shoulder girdle. The lower picture is a posterior (from the rear) view of the thorax (scapula shown in red).

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

14,791 papers

The Scapula: The Greater Masquerader of  Shoulder Pathologies.ReviewInstructional course lectures · 2024Wagner ER, Hussain ZB, Karzon AL et al.
Radiographic and geometric anatomy of the scapula.ReviewClinical orthopaedics and related research · 1992Mallon WJ, Brown HR, Vogler JB 3rd et al.
The Foraminal Indices of the Rat Scapula.Anatomia, histologia, embryologia · 2024Turker Yavas F, Coskun UDOI: 10.1111/ahe.13104
Sexual dimorphism and allometry in human scapula shape.Journal of anatomy · 2024Lee ECS, Lawrence RL, Rainbow MJDOI: 10.1111/joa.14124
Osseous anatomy of the scapula.ReviewClinical orthopaedics and related research · 2001von Schroeder HP, Kuiper SD, Botte MJDOI: 10.1097/00003086-200102000-00015
Scapula alata: Diagnosis and treatment by nerve surgery and tendon transfers.Hand surgery & rehabilitation · 2022Lafosse T, D'Utruy A, El Hassan B et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.hansur.2020.09.016
Developmental anomalies of the scapula-the "omo"st forgotten bone.ReviewAmerican journal of medical genetics. Part A · 2003Williams MSDOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.20091
Scapula anatomy influences simulated impingement-free range of motion in reverse shoulder arthroplasty.Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery · 2026Greiner S, Denard PJ, Metcalfe N et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.jse.2025.05.008

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Official website: alpathology.blogspot.com
Image: Scapula - posterior view2.png

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Commons category: Scapula
Commons gallery: Scapula
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12783

Sources (11)

via Wikidata · CC0

~23 min read

Article

20 sections

Contents

Structure
Surfaces
Front or subscapular fossa
Back
Side
Angles
Borders
Development
Function
Movements
Clinical significance
Scapular fractures
Scapular dyskenesis
Etymology
In other animals
In dinosaurs
Gallery
See also
References
External links

In compound terms, the prefix omo- is used for the shoulder blade in medical terminology. This prefix is derived from ὦμος (ōmos), the Ancient Greek word for shoulder, and is cognate with the Latin , which in Latin signifies either the shoulder or the upper arm bone.