Scapula of a Male With an Anterior Rim Fracture, Anterior View

Description

Anteriorly oriented scapula from an adult male specimen is presented with the costal (subscapular) surface facing the viewer, bringing the glenoid fossa into clear profile at the lateral angle. A red fracture line tracks along the anterior rim of the glenoid, just inferior to the base of the coracoid process and anterior to the glenoid articular margin where the capsulolabral complex attaches. Superiorly, the acromion projects laterally toward the expected acromioclavicular relationship, while the scapular neck bridges medially to the body and inferior angle. The damage is focal. An anterior glenoid rim fracture is the bony counterpart of an anterior shoulder dislocation, often accompanying a Bankart lesion and predisposing to recurrent instability when the anteroinferior glenoid arc is shortened. This view is practical for teaching why loss of the anterior glenoid buttress alters humeral head centering during abduction and external rotation, and it mirrors the structures assessed during CT planning for instability surgery (for example, quantifying glenoid bone loss before arthroscopic bony Bankart repair or coracoid transfer procedures). Coracoid and acromion landmarks also help orient the surgical corridor used in deltopectoral and arthroscopic anterior portal approaches. Use this illustration in shoulder and upper limb anatomy modules, orthopaedic or sports medicine lectures on anterior instability, and in publishing workflows that require a clean, labeled depiction of glenoid rim fractures for textbooks, patient handouts, or operative consent materials. It also supports radiology teaching when correlating anteroposterior scapular anatomy with axial CT or en face 3D reconstructions of the glenoid. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.