Anatomy study note · Upper limb

Teres major

A thick muscle from the lower scapula to the front of the humerus. Its lower border marks the end of the axillary artery and forms the lower boundary of the quadrangular space.

Key points

• Lower lateral border → medial lip of the bicipital groove.
• Lower subscapular nerve.
• Medial rotation + adduction. NOT part of the rotator cuff.
• Its lower border: axillary artery becomes brachial.
• 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

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 3, PDF pp. 259, 303
• 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

• Teres minor
• Thenar muscles
• Thoracodorsal nerve
• Trapezius
• Triceps brachii
• Ulna
• Ulnar artery
• Ulnar nerve
• Veins of the hand
• Wrist joint
• Abductor pollicis longus
• Acromioclavicular joint

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