Abstract
Background: The suprascapular notch is a depression on the superior border of scapula which gives passage to the suprascapular nerve to enter the supraspinous fossa. During its course there is a possibility of entrapment of the nerve while in the notch due to its variant shapes and dimensions which leads to suprascapular nerve entrapment syndrome. Also the spinoglenoid notch with its ligament is affected by the position of the glenohumeral joint. These pressure changes in combination with repetitive shoulder movement are likely components that cause repeated trauma or compression on the distal suprascapular nerve.
Aim of Study: The present work was designed to study the variation of the shape and diameter of the suprascapular notch and spinoglenoid notch of the scapula.
Material and Methods: The study will be carried out on 100 dried human scapula obtained from Anatomy department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. The shape of the suprascapular notch was determined and recorded as follow U shaped, V shaped, flat or absent at all. Out of 100 scapulae 56 were right sided and 44 were left sided. Also the mean values for suprascapula notch was measured.
Results: The most common shape was V- shaped, followed by U-shaped, then the least common one is the flat one. About 14 % scapulae showing absent foramen. Regarding the side of scapulae, V shaped suprascapular notch were recorded in 44.2% scapulae (22 left side, 16 right side), while 39.5% were U shaped (12 left side, 22 right side). Only 16.3% scapulae showed flat suprascapular notch (8 left side, 6 right side).
Conclusion: This study may help the clinicians to have precise anatomical knowledge of the suprascapular notch before making proper diagnosis and surgical interventions of suprascapular nerve entrapment syndrome.