European Journal of Anatomy

Official Journal of The Spanish Society of Anatomy
Cover Volume 21 - Number 3
Eur J Anat, 21 (3): 165-171 (2017)

Quantification of the deltoid muscle height in the region of the coraco-acromial ligament â?? An ultraso-nographical study

Nerissa Naidoo1, Lelika Lazarus1, Martine De Muynck2, Kapil S. Satyapal1, Alexander Van Tongel2 and Lieven De Wilde2

1Department of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa ,2 Department of Physical Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

ABSTRACT Although the triangular deltoid muscle has three distinct portions originating from the scapula and acromion, the underlying coraco-acromial ligament presents as the stabilizing factor for the anterior deltoid, thus bridging the interval within the coraco-acromial arch. As the deltoid muscle integrity is vulnerable during the resection of the coraco-acromial ligament from the acromion, the purpose of this study was to quantify the height of the del-toid muscle over the region of the coraco-acromial ligament.The superior shoulder region in seventeen nor-mal female individuals (n = 34) were bilaterally examined through an ultrasonographic system (Medelec Synergy: Acertys T2 EDX, 2012). In ad-dition to the length of the coraco-acromial liga-ment, the height of the deltoid muscle was meas-ured at three selected areas between the posterior aspect of the coracoid process and the anterior acromial tip, just superior to the coraco-acromial ligament.The mean coraco-acromial length was found to be 24.8±7.6mm. The mean deltoid height at re-gions 1, 2 and 3 were 8.4±2.7mm, 9.1±2.1mm and8.4±3.0mm, respectively.The height of the deltoid muscle was recorded to be constant across all three regions related to the coraco-acromial ligament. Moreover, the specific height of the deltoid muscle in the region of the coraco-acromial ligament was not reported in the literature reviewed. In addition, this study was done to complement the introduction of the delto-fulcral triangle model by Naidoo et al. (2017). The provision of data regarding the specific deltoid height may assist to preserve the deltoid muscle and the accompanying coraco-acromial ligament during operative procedures.

Keywords: Deltoid muscle â?? Coraco-acromial ligament â?? Height â?? Stabilizer â?? Acromion â?? Cora-coid process â?? Ultrasonography

European Journal of anatomy
ISSN 2340-311X (Online)