Ligament · Shoulders

Costoclavicular ligament

Ligamentum costoclaviculare

A short, dense ligament tying the underside of the inner end of the collarbone down to the first rib and its cartilage, immediately beside the joint with the breastbone. It is the anchor the whole clavicle pivots around: shrug the shoulder and the outer end of the bone rises while the inner end must drop, and this ligament is what that movement turns about. Its position is worth noting for another reason — the subclavian vessels and the nerves of the brachial plexus pass through the narrow gap between the clavicle above and the first rib below, just behind it.