Main Reference Sections:
Health Glossary (Index)
Human Body (Index)
Medical Textbooks

More pages in this category
(in alphabetical order):

Acromion

Acromion Process

Anterior angle of scapula

Axillary border of scapula

Body of scapula

Coracoid process

Glenoid cavity

Inferior angle of scapula

Infraglenoid tubercle

Infraspinous fossa

Lateral angle of scapula

Lateral border of scapula

Medial angle of scapula

Medial border of scapula

Spine of scapula

Subscapular fossa

Superior angle of scapula

Superior border of scapula

Supraglenoid tubercle

Supraspinous fossa

Vertebral border of scapula

Lateral border = a structural feature on the scapula, which is also known as the "shoulder blade" or "shoulder bone".

The lateral border of the scapula is also known as the axillary border of the scapula and sometimes as the "external border (of scapula)".

General context of the vertebral border of the scapula:
The scapula is a triangular bone. Triangles have 3 angles and 3 sides.
The 3 angles of the scapula bone are located towards the upper, lower and lateral (= axillary) surfaces of the scapula. The 3 "sides" of the approximately triangular shape of the scapula bone are not straight (as per strict mathematical triangles) but are curved and are called "borders".

The 3 borders of the scapula are :

• the superior border of the scapula.
• the medial border of the scapula (also known as the vertebral border of the scapula), and
• the axillary border of the scapula (also known as the lateral border of the scapula).

As its name suggests, the lateral border of the scapula is the edge of the scapula bone located towards the lateral (i.e. right- and left-) aspects of the body, that is the right-side of the body in the case of the right-scapula bone and the left-side of the body in the case of the left-scapula bone. It is also known as the axillary border.

The lateral border of the scapula is the thickest of the three borders of the scapula bone. It extends down from the lower margin of the glenoid cavity all the way along the lateral edge of the scapula to the inferior angle.

The lowest third of the lateral border of the scapula (closest to the inferior angle) is much thinner than the upper portion of the lateral border and can be quite sharp. This section provides points of attachment for some fibres of the teres major (muscle) towards the posterior surface and the subscapularis (muscle) towards the anterior surface.

For more information about this and related topics see the links to other features on the scapula bone listed on the left and the pages about the scapula bone and about bone markings and features on bones.