| Bone | Scapula |
|---|---|
| Region | Shoulder |
Find it
- Client supine with the arm resting by the side.
- Find the outer end of the clavicle, then drop your fingers just below it into the dip between the deltoid and pectoralis major (the deltopectoral groove).
- Press gently back and slightly out: the tip feels like a firm knob under the muscle. Do not press medially towards the armpit, where the major nerves and vessels of the arm run.
- Confirm by asking the client to bend the elbow against light resistance: the tendon of the short head of biceps tightens just below the tip.
Pectoralis minor inserts on the coracoid process, and coracobrachialis and the short head of biceps brachii arise from its tip by a shared (conjoint) tendon. The coracoclavicular, coracoacromial and coracohumeral ligaments also attach here.
It lies deep to pectoralis major, which covers it but does not attach to it. Surgeons call it the “lighthouse of the shoulder” because the nerves and vessels to the arm pass just medial to it, which is why pressure here stays gentle.