Anatomy · Skeleton · Upper limb
Shoulder girdle anatomy
Also known as: shoulder, collarbone, shoulder blade
Clavicle and scapula link each arm to the trunk.
Overview page. A full anatomy article for the shoulder girdle has not been written yet; below are the modelled structures, the system it belongs to and every clinical topic that mentions it.
Structures in the atlas 4
The modelled pieces that make up the shoulder girdle in the 3D atlas. Each opens in the explorer.
The skeleton in brief
The adult skeleton has 206 bones plus the cartilages that cap joints, join the ribs to the sternum and shape the nose and airway. It is organised into an axial skeleton (skull, vertebral column, ribs and sternum) that protects the brain, spinal cord, heart and lungs, and an appendicular skeleton (the limbs with their girdles) built for movement. Bone is living tissue: it remodels throughout life in response to load, stores calcium and phosphate, and houses the marrow that makes blood cells.