Anatomy study note · Upper limb

Serratus anterior

A broad sheet on the side of the chest wall that holds the scapula against the thorax and pulls it forward. It forms the medial wall of the axilla.

Key points

• Upper 8 ribs → medial border + inferior angle of the scapula.
• Long thoracic nerve (C5, 6, 7) — "wings of heaven".
• Protracts and upward-rotates the scapula.
• Palsy → winged scapula.
• Limb muscles: in situ from limb-bud mesenchyme.
• Upper limb bud C4–T2; lower limb bud L2–S2.
• Skeletal muscle: multinucleated, peripheral nuclei, striated.
• Epimysium → perimysium → endomysium.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Origin · Insertion · Action · Nerve supply · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 3, PDF pp. 301, 356
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 7, PDF p. 109; ch. 10, PDF pp. 142–145
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 8, PDF pp. 135–144

More from the upper limb

• Shoulder joint
• Sternoclavicular joint
• Subclavius
• Subscapular nerves
• Subscapularis
• Supinator
• Suprascapular nerve
• Supraspinatus
• Supratrochlear (cubital) lymph node
• Teres major
• Teres minor
• Thenar muscles

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