Arthrography of the shoulder in anterior dislocation: a study of African and Asian patients

Arthrography of the shoulder was performed in 16 consecutive cases of primary anterior dislocation and in 11 cases of recurrent dislocation. All the primary dislocations were in African Negro patients and showed an unusually high incidence of capsular rupture rather than labral detachment. It is suggested that this is due to stronger soft tissue attachment to bone in Africans, resulting in fewer labral detachments and thus accounting for the low incidence of recurrent dislocation in the African populace. The series of recurrent dislocations, consisting of African and Asian patients, confirmed the low incidence in Africans but demonstrated labral detachment and humeral head defects common to both racial groups.