The bicipital groove (intertubercular groove, sulcus intertubercularis) is a deep groove on the

humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...

that separates the

greater tubercle The greater tubercle of the humerus is the outward part the upper end of that bone, adjacent to the large rounded prominence of the humerus head. It provides attachment points for the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles, th ...

from the

lesser tubercle The lesser tubercle of the humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of thre ...

. It allows for the long tendon of the biceps brachii muscle to pass.

Structure

The bicipital groove separates the

from the

. It is usually around 8 cm long and 1 cm wide in

adults An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

. The groove lodges the long tendon of the

biceps brachii muscle The biceps or biceps brachii (, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both Muscle head, heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single ...

, positioned between the tendon of the pectoralis major muscle on the lateral lip and the tendon of the

teres major muscle The teres major muscle is a muscle of the upper limb. It attaches to the scapula and the humerus and is one of the seven scapulohumeral muscles. It is a thick but somewhat flattened muscle. The teres major muscle (from Latin ''teres'', meanin ...

on the medial lip. It also transmits a branch of the

anterior humeral circumflex artery The anterior humeral circumflex artery (anterior circumflex artery, anterior circumflex humeral artery) is an artery in the arm. It is one of two circumflexing arteries that branch from the axillary artery, the other being the posterior humeral cir ...

to the

shoulder joint The shoulder joint (or glenohumeral joint from Greek ''glene'', eyeball, + -''oid'', 'form of', + Latin ''humerus'', shoulder) is structurally classified as a synovial joint, synovial ball-and-socket joint and functionally as a diarthrosis and m ...

. The insertion of the

latissimus dorsi muscle The latissimus dorsi () is a large, flat muscle on the back that stretches to the sides, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius on the back near the midline. The word latissimus dorsi (plural: ''latissimi dorsi'') comes from ...

is found along the floor of the bicipital groove. The

inserts on the medial lip of the groove. It runs obliquely downward, and ends near the junction of the upper with the middle third of the bone. It is the lateral wall of the

axilla The axilla (: axillae or axillas; also known as the armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm a ...

Function

The bicipital groove allows for the long tendon of the biceps brachii muscle to pass.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Authority control Humerus

Structure

Function

Gallery

See also

References

External links