Avulsion injury to the conjoined tendons of the latissimus dorsi and teresmajor muscles

Unlike other better known, more widely recognized avulsions or ruptures of musculotendinous units about the shoulder, injury to the latissimus dorsi m uscle is thought to be particularly rare. Despite one study that reported 5 % of baseball players with symptomatic shoulders in their series had latiss imus dorsi tendinitis or latissimus dorsi muscle rupture,(1) major textbook s on the shoulder do not devote any attention to latissimus dorsi injuries. (4,11) Ruptures to the muscle belly of the latissimus dorsi are described o nly in several case reports.(1,10,13) We present a patient who sustained an avulsion injury to the conjoined tendons of the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles.(2) We are unaware of a similar detailed description of a hu meral avulsion of the latissimus dorsi muscle in the literature.