Key facts
- Origin
- Lateral border of the scapula
- Insertion
- Inferior facet of greater tubercle of the humerus
- Artery
- Posterior circumflex humeral artery and the circumflex scapular artery
- Nerve
- Axillary nerve (C5-C6)
- Actions
- Laterally rotates the arm, stabilizes humerus
- Latin
- musculus teres minor
- Ta98
- A04.6.02.010
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Teres minor muscle animation2.gif
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Teres minor muscles
- arterial supply
- posterior humeral circumflex artery
- muscle origin
- Infraspinous fascia
- muscle insertion
- greater tubercle
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The teres minor (Latin teres meaning 'rounded') is a narrow, elongated muscle of the rotator cuff. The muscle originates from the lateral border and adjacent posterior surface of the corresponding right or left scapula and inserts at both the greater tubercle of the humerus and the posterior surface of the joint capsule.
The primary function of the teres minor is to modulate the action of the deltoid, preventing the humeral head from sliding upward as the arm is abducted. It also functions to rotate the humerus laterally. The teres minor is innervated by the axillary nerve.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “teres minor muscle” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.