A 53-year-old construction worker sustains a fracture of their corocoid process. Due to the muscles attaching to the corocoid process, the fracture has severely affected their ability to perform a lot of the actions those muscles perform. Which of the following functions would most likely remain unaffected due to this injury?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The coracoid process serves as the attachment point for several muscles, most notably the short head of the biceps brachii, the coracobrachialis, and the pectoralis minor. When the coracoid is fractured, the functions of these attached muscles are compromised, while muscles that do not originate from the coracoid are largely unaffected.

Option 1: Elbow Flexion. The short head of the biceps brachii originates from the coracoid process. If the coracoid is fractured, this attachment is disrupted, which can diminish the elbow flexion strength or control mediated in part by the short head. Therefore this function is likely to be affected rather than preserved.

Option 2: Shoulder (glenohumeral) abduction. The primary muscles responsible for initial shoulder abduction are the supraspinatus and the deltoid. The coracoid muscles (short head of biceps, coracobrachialis) do not primarily contribute to abduction, especially the initial 0–15 degrees. Thus, abduction is the function least dependent on the coracoid attachment and would most likely remain preserved despite a coracoid fracture.

Option 3: Scapular depression. The pectoralis minor attaches to the coracoid process and assists in moving the scapula downward (depression) and stabilizing it. A fracture disrupting the coracoid would impair this muscle’s contribution, making scapular depression more likely to be affected.

Option 4: Shoulder (glenohumeral) flexion. The coracobrachialis originates from the coracoid process and aids in flexion and adduction of the shoulder. Therefore, flexion would be compromised to some extent due to loss of coracobrachialis function.

Putting it together, the function least affected by a coracoid fracture—i.e., the one most likely to remain intact—is the shoulder (glenohumeral) abduction, which is primarily performed by muscles not anchored to the coracoid.

2261 REHSCI 1200 SEC1010 Graded Quiz 3

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

A muscular dystrophy patient who presents with a condition of "winged scapulae" means that they have a problem with their:

An avulsion fracture (where a tendon or muscle is torn off its attachment on a bone along with a part of the bone it attaches to) of the coracoid process of the scapula would be associated with which of the following tendons:

Most of the shoulder girdle muscles insert on the scapula.

The joint labelled #1 above is the sternoclavicular joint joint and #2 is the acromioclavicular joint

Which of the following shoulder flexors would be affected due to a fracture of the coracoid process?

Which of the following structures stabilizes the tendon of the long head of the biceps as it travels through the intertubercular groove of the humerus?

An avulsion fracture (where a tendon or muscle is torn off its attachment on a bone along with a part of the bone it attaches to) of the supraglenoid tubercle would be associated with which of the following tendons:

Which of the following structures travel through the quadrangular space around the shoulder / axilla?

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler