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

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

The medial border of the scapula is also known as the vertebral border of the scapula, the "internal border of the scapula" and sometimes as the "base (of the 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 medial border of the scapula is the edge of the scapula bone located towards the middle of the body (as opposed to the lateral - right or left - aspects).
It is also known as the vertebral border as it is the closest edge of the scapula bone to the vertebral column.

The medial border of the scapula is the longest of the three borders of the scapula.
It extends all the way along the long edge of the scapula bone from the superior angle of the scapula (= medial angle of scapula) to the inferior angle of the scapula.
As shown below, the part of the medial border located above the spine of the scapula is angled outwards (away from the vertebral column) forming a marked angle in the shape of the medial border of the scapula at the location of the medial extreme of the spine of scapula.

The medial border of the scapula includes points of attachments of several major muscles of the upper body:

Part of Medial border of scapula	Muscles attached
anterior lip	serratus magnus
posterior lip	supraspinatus (above the spine of scapula) infraspinatus (below spine of scapula)
intermediate space (between anterior and posterior lips)	levator anguli scapulae rhomboid minor rhomboid major (directy, or indirectly)

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.