Human Shoulder Anatomy and Physiology

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There are 3 bones in the human shoulder, or glenohumeral joint; the humerus, the clavicle, and the scapula. These bones are stabilized by 15+ muscles, depending on how you count them. These muscles function to stabilize the joint. This is what allows you to type, swing, and grasp with utter precision. Homo sapiens shoulder is precisely mobile, but lacks the stability and strength of our great ape cousins.

Shoulder Anatomy and Physiology

The human shoulder is a powerful and large anatomical structure. The hinging ball and socket joint allows for vast gains in momentum over short periods of time and is relatively versatile. The shoulder anatomy allows for many types of throwing, fine motor movement down to typing, powerful grasping, hefting objects, climbing, combat, quadruped movement, etc. The shoulder also has a large range of motion; however, this makes the shoulder prone to injury.