Three Cases of Rare Anatomic Variations of the Long Head of Biceps Brachii

Kwak,  Sang Ho; Lee,  Seung Jun; Song,  Byung Wook; Lee,  Min Soo; Suh,  Kuen Tak

doi:2015.18.2.96

Clin Shoulder Elb > Volume 18(2); 2015 > Article

Case Report

Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow 2015;18(2):96-101.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5397/cise.2015.18.2.96 Published online June 30, 2015.

Three Cases of Rare Anatomic Variations of the Long Head of Biceps Brachii

Sang Ho Kwak, Seung Jun Lee, Byung Wook Song, Min Soo Lee, Kuen Tak Suh

¹Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea. ninanojune@naver.com
²Nalgae Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
³Hanseo Hospital, Busan, Korea.

Received: 24 October 2014 • Revised: 26 January 2015 • Accepted: 12 March 2015

Abstract

In general, the long head of the biceps brachii originates from the superior glenoid labrum and the supraglenoid tubercle, crosses the rotator cuff interval, and extends into the bicipital groove. However, rare anatomic variations of the origins of the long head have been reported in the past. In this report, we review the clinical history, radiologic findings, and arthroscopic identifications of 3 anatomic variants of the biceps tendon long head. As the detection of long head of biceps tendon pathology during preoperative radiologic assessment can be difficult without prior knowledge, surgeons should be aware of such possible anatomic variations.

Key Words: Shoulder; Anatomic variation; Long head of biceps brachii