Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery 9(6):611-616 Published by Raven Press, Ltd. © 1993 Arthroscopy Association of North America 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 com-prising 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 configura-tion was found to consistently span the insertions of supraspinatus and i-ffaspinatus 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. Arthroscopy of the shoulder joint shows a con