Labrum
From Jayson Stark, writing on Carlos Beltran:
Carlos Beltran can't fix the Mets' bullpen. He can't throw out any base stealers. He can't repair Pedro Martinez's labrum.Merriam-Webster wasn't much help this time:
la·brum: an upper or anterior mouthpart of an arthropod consisting of a single median piece in front of or above the mandiblesPedro Martinez isn't an athropod...
Happily, I found that there are dictionaries just for medical terms, if you can believe it. Here it is from MedicineNet.com:
Labrum: In medicine, a ring of fibrocartilage (fibrous cartilage)Now, while Pedro Martinez is not, in fact, an arthropod, he has had shoulder problems. So, labrum: the ring of cartilage in the shoulder joint.
around the edge of the articular (joint) surface of a bone. The term labrum is used in anatomy to designate a lip, edge, or brim. Plural: labra.The glenoid labrum is a ring of fibrocartilage that runs around the cavity of the scapula (wingbone) in which the head of the humerus (the bone in the upper arm) fits. The labrum deepens this cavity (the glenoid cavity) and effectively increases the surface of the shoulder joint.
Posted by Matt at April 3, 2005 10:57 AM
