Aberrant muscle anterior to the shoulder joint: Its clinical relevance

Thirteen shoulders of 13 cases with aberrant muscle attached to the subscap ularis encountered during surgery are described. The distal part of the sub scapularis was completely or incompletely covered by aberrant muscle in all cases, and the anterior circumflex vessels were covered in 3 cases. Knowle dge concerning these aberrant muscles is indispensable in minimizing confus ion concerning surgical anatomy and in achieving adequate exposure of the s houlder during surgery while preserving the anterior circumflex artery, whi ch constitutes the main nutrient vessel of the humeral head.