This cadaveric anatomic study measured the true depth of the socket formed by the bony glenoid plus the labrum. It tested whether the glenoid is a flat platform or a deeper socket that helps contain the humeral head. Measurements came from 25 specimen shoulders, normalized to a standard 44-mm humeral head.
A torn anterior labrum is not just a soft-tissue tag. It represents loss of roughly half your bony containment in the exact direction the shoulder most often dislocates. This paper reframes the glenoid from a flat, unstable platform into a genuine socket, with the labrum supplying half its depth. That single fact anchors why we repair Bankart lesions rather than dismiss them.
Detaching the anterior labrum drops AP socket depth from 5.0 to 2.4 mm and breaks the load-sharing labral ring, so containment fails in two ways at once. The work also underpins concavity-compression: muscle forces press the head into a real socket to keep it centered within 1 mm during motion.
As a cadaveric study assuming a spherical head, it does not prove in vivo stability, and the authors explicitly call for kinematic studies. It remains a foundational anatomic argument for why the labrum matters.
This cadaveric anatomic study measured the true depth of the socket formed by the bony glenoid plus the labrum. It tested whether the glenoid is a flat platform or a deeper socket that helps contain the humeral head. Measurements came from 25 specimen shoulders, normalized to a standard 44-mm humeral head.
A torn anterior labrum is not just a soft-tissue tag. It represents loss of roughly half your bony containment in the exact direction the shoulder most often dislocates. This paper reframes the glenoid from a flat, unstable platform into a genuine socket, with the labrum supplying half its depth. That single fact anchors why we repair Bankart lesions rather than dismiss them.
Detaching the anterior labrum drops AP socket depth from 5.0 to 2.4 mm and breaks the load-sharing labral ring, so containment fails in two ways at once. The work also underpins concavity-compression: muscle forces press the head into a real socket to keep it centered within 1 mm during motion.
As a cadaveric study assuming a spherical head, it does not prove in vivo stability, and the authors explicitly call for kinematic studies. It remains a foundational anatomic argument for why the labrum matters.