Anatomy Atlases: Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus I: Muscular System: Alphabetical Listing of Muscles: T: Teres Major

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Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus I: Muscular System: Alphabetical Listing of Muscles: T

Teres Major

Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

It is believed that this muscle is closely related developmentally with latissimus dorsi. It is part of the same muscle sheet and it is often fused with a slip of latissimus dorsi at the inferior angle of the scapula.

A muscular slip has been found joining the scapular head of the triceps, as well as one joining the fascia of the (upper) arm on its lateral aspect.

An accessory slip originating from the vertebral border of the scapula just below the spine has also been described.

The tendon of insertion is variable. According to Mori, the terminal tendon is fused with that of latissimus dorsi in 28% or the insertion sites of the terminal tendons on the humerus are contiguous and parallel between teres major and latissimus dorsi in 13 arms or 13%, and in the final form the tendons are not parallel, but rather V-shaped, at the insertion site on the humerus in 10 arms or 10% of subjects.

Mori reports a deviant slip from the infraglenoid tubercule fused with the terminal tendon of teres major in 1 arm or 1% of subjects.

In rare cases, teres major may be absent.

Syn.: m. Grosser runder Armmuskel, Grand Rond.

References

Gérard, G. et P. Cordier. (1920) Au sujet d'un cas de fusion des tendons des muscles grand dorsal et grand rond. Soc. Biol., Comptes Rendus Hebdomadiares des Séances et Mémoires 83:927.

LeDouble, A.F. (1897) Traité des Variations du Système Musculaire de l'Homme et Leur Significance au Point de Vue de l'Anthropologie Zoologique. Libraire C. Reinwald, Schleicher Freres, Paris.

Macalister, A. (1875) Observations on the muscular anomalies in the human anatomy. Third series with a catalogue of the principal muscular variations hitherto published. Trans. Roy. Irish Acad. Sci. 25:1-130.

Mori, M. (1964) Statistics on the musculature of the Japanese. Okajimas Fol. Anat. Japonica 40:195-300.

Schaefer, E.A., Symington, J. and T.H. Bryce., Eds. (1923) Quain's Elements of Anatomy,11th ed. Longmans, Green and Co. London.

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