Acute dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint (AC-joint) often leads to disruption of the "deltotrapezoid fascia", a common aponeurosis of the deltoid and the trapezoid muscles. Various studies demonstrated that its reconstruction is crucial for functional recovery. Textbooks of anatomy, however, fail to mention this prominent structure that is also not listed in the Terminologia Anatomica provided by the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT). Here, we demonstrate that the delta-trapezoid fascia is hardly visible in formalin-fixed, but prominent in fresh specimen. We provide an extensive anatomical description based on 11 specimens derived from eight body donators and show, as a major finding that different fixations massively impact on the structural integrity of the DTF. We hypothesize that modern (minimal-invasive) surgical strategies unraveled many structures of fundamental function that are not known by anatomists and therefore not covered by anatomical education.
Keywords: Anatomical education; Deltotrapezoid fascia; Formalin-fixation; Glycerol-fixation; Operative treatment acromioclavicular luxation; Thiel-fixation.
Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier GmbH.