In
Human Anatomy , the is the
Muscle forming the rounded contour of the
Shoulder .
It was previously called the Deltoideus and the name is still used by some anatomists. It is called so because it is in the shape of the
Greek letter
Delta (triangle).
The deltoid is a frequent site to administer
Intra-muscular Injections .
It arises in three distinct sets of fibers:
- Anterior fibres: from the Anterior border and upper surface of the lateral third of the Clavicle
- Middle fibres: from the lateral margin and upper surface of the Acromion
- Posterior fibres: from the lower lip of the Posterior border of the Spine Of The Scapula , as far back as the triangular surface at its medial end
From this extensive origin the fibers converge toward their insertion, the middle passing vertically, the anterior obliquely backward and lateralward, the posterior obliquely forward and lateralward; they unite in a thick
Tendon , which is inserted into the V-shaped deltoid tubercle on the middle of the
Lateral aspect of the shaft of the
Humerus . At its insertion the muscle gives off an expansion to the
Deep Fascia of the arm.
Axillary Nerve (C5,C6) and lateral supraclavicular
The are involved in shoulder abduction when the shoulder is externally rotated. The anterior deltoid is weak in strict transverse flexion but assists the
Pectoralis Major during shoulder transverse flexion / shoulder flexion (elbow slightly inferior to shoulders).
The are strongly involved in transverse extension particularly since the
Latissimus Dorsi is very weak in strict transverse extension. The posterior deltoid is also the primary shoulder hyperextensor.
The are involved in shoulder abduction when the shoulder is internally rotated, are involved in shoulder flexion when the shoulder is internally rotated, and are involved in shoulder transverse abduction (shoulder externally rotated) -- but are not utilized significantly during strict transverse extension (shoulder internally rotated).
, working the ]]
The deltoid muscle has three sections, the front head, the side head and the rear head. These heads have different actions and so need different
Strength Training exercises to completely train the whole of the muscle.
- The ''front'' deltoid is used in all pressing movements, such as the Bench Press , and can be trained adequately without any isolation movements. However for isolation front dumbbell raises are the most commonly used.
- The ''middle'' head of the deltoid is the main abductor at the gleno-humeral joint (shoulder) and is commonly trained using side lateral raises (also known as the Shoulder Fly . The middle head also benefits from overhead pressing movements.
- The ''rear'' head of the deltoid is best trained with bent-over dumbbell laterals (an Inverted Fly )
The Deltoid is a classical example of a
Multipennate muscle.
The middle fibres of the muscle arise in a bipenniform manner (like a bird's feather) from the sides of the tendinous intersections, generally four in number, which are attached above to the acromion and pass downward parallel to one another in the substance of the muscle. The oblique fibers thus formed are inserted into similar tendinous intersections, generally three in number, which pass upward from the insertion of the muscle and alternate with the descending septa. The portions of the muscle arising from the clavicle and spine of the scapula are not arranged in this manner, but are inserted into the margins of the inferior tendon.
