What is the Difference Between Clavicle and Scapula

The key difference between clavicle and scapula is that the clavicle is a bone in the shoulder that forms a joint with the shoulder blade at one end and the breastbone at the other end, while the scapula is a bone in the shoulder that lies at the back of the upper rib cage.

The shoulder is an extremely mobile part of the body. It is made up of several joints that work together. The shoulder also has several important bones: scapula (shoulder blade), clavicle (collar bone), and humerus (upper arm bone).

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Clavicle 
3. What is a Scapula
4. Similarities – Clavicle and Scapula
5. Clavicle vs Scapula in Tabular Form
6. FAQ – Clavicle and Scapula
7. Summary – Clavicle vs. Scapula

What is a Clavicle?

The clavicle is also known as the collar bone. It is a long S-shaped bone in the shoulder. It forms a joint with the shoulder blade or scapula at one end and the breast bone or sternum at the other end. The clavicle also usually creates distance between the trunk and upper arm. This allows normal, free motion of shoulder joints.

In people who are thin, the clavicle is normally visible under the skin. The clavicle has three main functions. It attaches the upper limb to the trunk as part of the ‘shoulder girdle’; it protects underlying neurovascular structures supplying the upper limb, and it transmits force from the upper limb to the axial skeleton. Furthermore, conditions affecting the clavicle are clavicle fracture and separated shoulder.

What is Scapula?

The scapula is also known as the shoulder blade. It is a large, flat, triangular bone that lies at the back of the upper rib cage. Normally, several different muscles attach to the shoulder blade, which ultimately facilitates the stability and mobility of the shoulder joint. The scapula also has key parts in its structure, such as acromion, coracoid process, and glenoid cavity.

The scapula is located behind the shoulder and is attached to the humerus via a ball and socket joint called the glenohumeral joint. It is also attached to the collarbone through the acromioclavicular joint. The scapula engages in six types of motions: protraction, retraction, elevation, depression, upward rotation, and downward rotation. Scapular dyskinesis is a disease affecting the scapula.

What are the Similarities Between Clavicle and Scapula?

• The clavicle and scapula are two bones of the shoulder.
• The scapula is also attached to the collarbone through the acromioclavicular joint.
• Both are very important for mobility.
• They are affected by different conditions.

What is the Difference Between Clavicle and Scapula?

A clavicle is a bone in the shoulder that forms a joint with the shoulder blade at one end and the breastbone at the other end, while a scapula is a bone in the shoulder that lies at the back of the upper rib cage. Thus, this is the key difference between clavicle and scapula. Furthermore, the clavicle is a long S-shaped bone in the shoulder, while the scapula is a large, flat, triangular bone.

The infographic below presents the differences between clavicle and scapula in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

FAQ: Clavicle and Scapula

What is the clavicle and scapula joint called?

The acromioclavicular joint is the shoulder region between the clavicle and the acromion of the scapula.

Which bone is called beauty bone?

The clavicle is known as the beauty bone.

What are the 5 muscles attached to the clavicle?

The pectoral muscle, the deltoid muscle, the subclavian muscle, the trapezoid, and the sternocleidomastoid muscle are the five muscles attached to the clavicle.

 Summary – Clavicle vs. Scapula

The shoulder is a highly mobile part of the body, and it is made up of three types of bones: scapula, clavicle, and humerus. Therefore, the clavicle and scapula are two bones of the shoulder.  The clavicle and scapular are interconnected to each other. However, the clavicle is a shoulder bone that forms a joint with the shoulder blade or scapula at one end and the breast bone or sternum at the other end, while the scapula is a shoulder bone that lies at the back of the upper rib cage, which is attached to humerus via a ball and socket joint called the glenohumeral joint. Moreover, the clavicle is a long S-shaped bone in the shoulder, while the scapula is a large, flat, triangular bone. So, this summarizes the difference between clavicle and scapula.

Reference:

1. “Why Do We Call It a Collarbone?” Cleveland Clinic.
2. “Scapula.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Clavicle – posterior view” By Anatomography – en:Anatomography (CC BY-SA 2.1 jp) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “803 The Scapula” By OpenStax College – Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site, Jun 19, 2013. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia