Infraspinous Fascia of a Male Side, Posterior View

Description

Posterior to the right shoulder girdle, the scapular spine separates the supraspinous fossa superiorly from the infraspinous fossa inferiorly, and the infraspinous fascia forms a dense aponeurotic sheath over the infraspinatus on the dorsal surface of the scapula. Laterally, the fascia blends toward the greater tubercle of the humerus where the infraspinatus tendon joins the rotator cuff insertion, while the deltoid caps the glenohumeral region superficially and wraps from the acromion and scapular spine onto the lateral humeral shaft. The highlighted layer clarifies the plane between superficial deltoid fascia and the deeper infraspinous fascia, with adjacent cuff tissues crowding the posterior joint line. A key landmark. Posterior shoulder pain and weakness in external rotation often traces back to pathology at the infraspinatus tendon footprint or to infraspinatus muscle atrophy, and this view makes the fascial compartment easy to teach without losing the relationship to the scapular spine and humeral head. The infraspinous fascia also matters in posterior approaches to the shoulder, where deltoid-splitting or deltoid-reflecting dissection must respect the underlying cuff, and in the spread patterns of infection or hematoma that can track within the infraspinous fossa rather than superficially. For nerve-related correlation, the course of the suprascapular nerve (after passing the spinoglenoid notch) is often discussed alongside this compartment when explaining isolated infraspinatus denervation. Use this artwork for gross anatomy labs covering scapulohumeral muscles, for sports medicine and orthopedic teaching on rotator cuff tears (posterior cuff in particular), and for surgical atlases describing posterior portals and dissection planes around the scapular spine and deltoid. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.