ANATOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO RUPTURE

Separation of the supraspinatus from its attachment to the humerus is a condition which has been recorded by various writers, notably by Cod-man of Boston, who was one of the first to recognize the prevalence and importance of the condition. There has been a general tendency to accept i t clinically as the direct result of trauma without inquiring into the possibility of other etiological factors. Observations upon cadavera, in this Department and elsewhere, suggest a more wide-spread disturbance than mere rupture of a muscle. The fact is that the rupture is very often only an accident in the course of a progressive disturbance which also involves other structures. Thus it is not surprising to find several aspects of the same condition de-scribed by different authors under various headings such as simple trau-matic rupture, subacromial bursitis, or fracture of the greater tuberosity. Others have been more impressed by the disappearance of the tendon of the long head of the biceps, which so frequently occurs as a concomitan