Humerus true anatomical neck, the constriction below the greater and lesser tubercles of the humerus is referred to as its surgical neck due to its tendency to fracture, thus often becoming the focus of surgeons. The word "humerus" is derived from meaning upper arm, shoulder, and is linguistically related to Gothic "ams" shoulder and Greek "ōmos". At the shoulder, the head of the humerus articulates with the glenoid fossa of the scapula. More distally, at the elbow, the capitulum of the humerus articulates with the head of the radius, and the trochlea of the humerus articulates with the trochlear notch of
Humerus fracture include having a low bone mineral density, having impaired vision and balance, and tobacco smoking. A stress fracture of the proximal and shaft regions can occur after an excessive amount of throwing, such as pitching in baseball. Middle fractures are usually caused by either physical trauma or falls. Physical trauma to the humerus shaft tends to produce transverse fractures whereas falls tend to produce spiral fractures. Metastatic breast cancer may also cause fractures in the humerus shaft. Long spiral fractures of the shaft that are present in children may indicate physical abuse. Distal fractures usually occur as a result of