Anatomic study of the glenoid labrum

Thirty-one shoulder joints from the cadavers of 13 men and four women and from two cadavers of unspecified sex were dissected to investigate the anatomic characteristics of the glenoid labrum. The ages at death ranged from 63 to 90 years with a mean age of 78.5 years. The glenoids were divided with a bone saw along both their long and short axes. The size of the glenoid and the labrum of each specimen was then measured with calipers. No significant correlation existed between the size of the labrum and that of the glenoid. This indicated that even if the glenoid was large, the labrum was not always correspondingly large. If one aspect of the labrum was large, other portions of the labrum tended to be large also. The anterior and inferior portions of the labrum were the largest, and this may have contributed to stability in the anterior and inferior directions.