The Rotator Crescent and Rotator Cable: An Anatomic Description of the Shoulder's “Suspension Bridge”

Summary 

Twenty fresh frozen cadaver shoulders were dissected in order to study the rotator cable-crescent complex. The rotator crescent is a term that we have used to describe the thin, crescent-shaped sheet of rotator cuff comprising the distal portions of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus insertions. The crescent was found to be bounded on its proximal margin by a thick bundle of fibers that we have called the rotator cable. This cable-crescent configuration was found to consistently span the insertions of supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons. The dimensions of the rotator cable and crescent were measured by a digital micrometer. The rotator cable was found to be a very substantial structure, averaging 2.59 times the thickness of the rotator crescent that it surrounded. This anatomic study supports the concepts of stress shielding of the rotator crescent by the stout rotator cable and stress transfer by this loaded cable system.

Key Words: Rotator crescent, Rotator cable, Rotator cuff, Suspension bridge, Rotator cuff tear