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The interactive dog atlas · Exterior and regions · Forelimb

Shoulder regio scapularis

The shoulder is the upper part of the front leg, on the side of the chest. It comprises the shoulder blade, the flat bone of the shoulder, and the muscles that attach it to the trunk.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Exterior Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Shoulder
  2. Withers
  3. Upper arm
  4. Forechest
Shoulder on the atlas drawing, "Exterior and regions" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

The upper part of the forelimb, on the side of the thorax.

System
Body regions
Region
Forelimb

What it is and what it does

The shoulder is the upper region of the forelimb: the shoulder blade (scapula) and the muscles that attach it to the trunk. The dog has no functional collarbone, so the forelimb is attached to the body only by muscles and ligaments, not by a bony joint. The shoulder joint is between the scapula and the humerus.

The angle between the shoulder blade and the upper arm (the "scapulohumeral angle") is one of the conformation landmarks most often discussed in working dogs.

Worth remembering

The dog has no functional collarbone: the front leg is attached to the body only by muscles and ligaments.

Names

  • Also called: scapular region.
  • Latin term: regio scapularis.
  • In Romanian: Umărul (Romanian page).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Forelimb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: exterior and regions