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A Cadaveric Study of a Safe and Accurate Electromyographic Needle Approach to the Rhomboid Major
Ki Hoon Kim1, Hong Bum Park, Dasom Kim
1From the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Korea University, Ansan, Republic of Korea (KHK, HBP, DHK); Department of Anatomy, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea (DK, IJR); and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Korea 21 FOUR, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea (IJR).
Objective:
This study aimed to investigate a safe and accurate electromyographic needle insertion site of the rhomboid major (RM) muscle using cadaver dissection.
Design:
Dissection of the trapezius and rhomboid major muscles around the scapula was performed in 18 scapulae from nine fresh cadavers. The point (point A) at which the lateral margin of the lower trapezius muscle crossed the medial border of the scapula and the distal insertion point (point DI) of the rhomboid major muscle to the medial scapula were determined. The midpoint (point M) between points A and DI was also determined. The distance from the inferior angle of the scapula to each point was measured.
Results:
The length of the medial scapula was 12.9 ± 1.2 cm from the root of the scapular spine to the inferior angle of the scapula. Points A, DI, and M were located at a mean distance of 8.4 ± 0.7, 1.8 ± 0.4, and 5.1 ± 0.5 cm proximal to the inferior angle of the scapula, respectively.
Conclusions:
Needle electromyographic examination of the rhomboid major muscle can be performed safely and accurately using the lower part of the rhomboid major muscle, as investigated in this anatomical study.
