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Concept
Clavicle
Summary
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right. The clavicle is the only long bone in the body that lies horizontally. Together with the shoulder blade, it makes up the shoulder girdle. It is a palpable bone and, in people who have less fat in this region, the location of the bone is clearly visible. It receives its name from Latin clavicula 'little key' because the bone rotates along its axis like a key when the shoulder is abducted. The clavicle is the most commonly fractured bone. It can easily be fractured by impacts to the shoulder from the force of falling on outstretched arms or by a direct hit.
The collarbone is a thin doubly curved long bone that connects the arm to the trunk of the body. Located directly above the first rib, it acts as a strut to keep the scapula in place so that the arm can hang freely. At its rounded medial end (sternal end), it articulates with the manubrium of the sternum (breastbone) at the sternoclavicular joint. At its flattened lateral end (acromial end), it articulates with the acromion, a process of the scapula (shoulder blade), at the acromioclavicular joint.
The rounded medial region (sternal region) of the shaft has a long curve laterally and anteriorly along two-thirds of the entire shaft. The flattened lateral region (acromial region) of the shaft has an even larger posterior curve to articulate with the acromion of the scapula. The medial region is the longest clavicular region as it takes up two-thirds of the entire shaft. The lateral region is both the widest clavicular region and thinnest clavicular region. The lateral end has a rough inferior surface that bears a ridge, the trapezoid line, and a slight rounded projection, the conoid tubercle (above the coracoid process). These surface features are attachment sites for muscles and ligaments of the shoulder.
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