Spontaneous medial dislocation of the tendon of the long biceps brachii. An anatomic study of prevalence and pathomechanics.

Medial displacement of the tendon of the long biceps brachii muscle was analyzed in a dissection study on autopsy in 77 subjects, 42 men and 35 women. The tendon was found to be medially displaced in five shoulders in five different subjects (6.5%). Medial displacement of the tendon was always found in connection with full-thickness supraspinatus tendon ruptures. It is a common belief that the tendon is always displaced medially to the lesser tubercle riding over the subscapularis tendon. In the present series, this condition was found only in one case; in the other shoulders the tendon had slipped medially to the lesser tubercle under the subscapularis tendon, which was partially internally ruptured. In patients with rotator cuff lesions, medial displacement of the long biceps tendon might be one reason for pain over the front of the shoulder.