Morphology of the shoulder muscles in Sapajus apella (Primates: Cebidae)

The study of nonhuman primates has been very important, due to the similarities with the human species. Many animal species, especially primates, have been used in medical and biological researches. Sapajus apella is a species with usual and abundant incidence in the Southeastern Region. This paper aimed to study the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder in the tufted capuchin monkey and compare them to those in human beings, with the purpose of providing information to anatomical and functional interpretations which will be useful for further studies on comparative anatomy. Four specimens of S. apella from the Human Anatomy Laboratory of Universidade Federal de Uberlandia were used. The specimens were prepared through dissection of the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder and preserved in formaldehyde solution. It was observed that the shoulder stabilizing muscles of the S. apella present morphological similarities, regarding origin and branching, with those found in human beings, as well as in other primates.