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# SGHL

The superior glenohumeral ligament is a band at the top front of the shoulder joint; it steadies the hanging arm and helps hold the biceps tendon in place.

Official name: Superior glenohumeral ligament

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## What it is

A small band at the top front of the [shoulder capsule](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/shoulder-joint-capsule/).

## What it does

Steadies the shoulder with the arm hanging at the side and helps hold the biceps tendon in its groove.

## Key points

- The most constant of the three glenohumeral ligaments; it lies in the rotator interval (between the [supraspinatus](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/supraspinatus/) and [subscapularis](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/subscapularis/) tendons) with the coracohumeral ligament
- With the coracohumeral ligament it forms the biceps pulley (medial sling) that keeps the long biceps tendon from slipping medially out of its groove
- Laxity of the rotator interval structures gives a sulcus sign that persists in external rotation

## Key facts

**Attaches**
Superior glenoid near the supraglenoid tubercle to above the lesser tubercle

**Function**
Resists inferior translation of the hanging arm; part of the biceps pulley

**Tight in**
Adduction + external rotation

## Relations

**Medial**
Superior glenoid near the supraglenoid tubercle, close to the [long biceps tendon](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/tendon-of-the-long-head-of-biceps/) origin and the anterosuperior [labrum](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/glenoid-labrum/)

**Lateral**
Small fovea just above the lesser tubercle, at the entrance of the bicipital groove

**Above**
[Coracohumeral ligament](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/coracohumeral-ligament/), superficial to it in the rotator interval; the front edge of the [supraspinatus tendon](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/supraspinatus-tendon/)

**Below**
Upper border of the [subscapularis tendon](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/subscapularis-tendon/)

**Behind**
Long biceps tendon, which it cradles as the tendon turns into the groove

## How to find it

Not palpable. At arthroscopy it lies in the rotator interval, the triangle bounded by the biceps tendon, the upper edge of subscapularis and the glenoid; it runs beside the biceps and curves under it as the floor of the pulley.

## Examination

- Sulcus sign: downward pull on the arm at the side opens a dimple below the acromion; a sulcus that persists in external rotation points to rotator interval (SGHL and coracohumeral ligament) laxity
- Yergason test (resisted supination with the elbow at 90°): pain or a snap in the groove suggests biceps instability, often from a pulley lesion

## On imaging

On MR arthrography the SGHL is seen on axial slices at the level of the coracoid and on sagittal oblique views of the rotator interval; a pulley tear shows the long biceps tendon subluxed medially, sometimes under a torn upper subscapularis.

## Clinical notes

- Pulley lesions (SGHL, coracohumeral ligament, upper subscapularis) cause anterior shoulder pain and medial subluxation of the biceps tendon in overhead athletes
- Rotator interval closure tightens the SGHL and coracohumeral ligament in some instability repairs; overtightening limits external rotation
- The rotator interval thickens and scars in frozen shoulder and is released in arthroscopic capsular release

## Related conditions

- [Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/frozen-shoulder/)

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## In which interval does the superior glenohumeral ligament lie?

The rotator interval, between the supraspinatus and subscapularis tendons, with the coracohumeral ligament.

## What do the superior glenohumeral ligament and coracohumeral ligament form together?

The biceps pulley, which keeps the long biceps tendon from slipping medially out of its groove.

## A sulcus sign that persists in external rotation points to laxity of which structures?

The rotator interval structures: the superior glenohumeral ligament and the coracohumeral ligament.

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Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.

## Its names

**Official Latin (TA2)**
ligamentum glenohumerale superius TA2 1767

**Official Spanish (DeCS)**
Ligamento glenohumeral superior

**English (TA2)**
Superior glenohumeral ligament

**Also called**
superior glenohumeral band

## Related

- [Coracohumeral ligament](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/coracohumeral-ligament/)
- [Humerus](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/humerus/)
- [Scapula](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/scapula/)

Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); [Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Glenohumeral Joint](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537018/); [Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Shoulder](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536933/).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/superior-glenohumeral-ligament/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/superior-glenohumeral-ligament/