Arm Muscles Quiz – Front and Back, Shoulder to Elbow

All 16 muscles on the diagram

Show the list

Front view 8

Deltoid (shoulder muscle) The thick muscle that gives the shoulder its rounded shape. It is the main muscle that lifts the arm out to the side.
Pectoralis major (chest muscle) Thick and fan-shaped, it covers much of the upper chest. It pulls the arm in toward the body and turns it inward.
Long head of the biceps brachii The outer of the two heads. It starts on the scapula just above the shoulder socket. Both heads bend the elbow and turn the palm up.
Short head of the biceps brachii The inner of the two heads. It starts on the coracoid process of the scapula and ends, with the long head, on the radius.
Coracobrachialis Bends the arm forward at the shoulder. It helps pull the arm in toward the body.
Brachialis Gives extra power when the elbow bends. It lies under the biceps brachii.
Brachioradialis A forearm muscle that starts on the humerus above the elbow. It helps bend the elbow.
Pronator teres Turns the forearm so the palm faces down. It runs from the inner side of the elbow across to the radius.

Back view 8

Infraspinatus Turns the arm outward. It covers the back of the scapula below its spine. One of the four rotator cuff muscles.
Teres minor A narrow muscle along the outer edge of the scapula. It turns the arm outward and is part of the rotator cuff.
Teres major Thick and flat, it lies below the teres minor. It pulls the arm back and in toward the body, and is not part of the rotator cuff.
Latissimus dorsi (lats) A broad, triangular muscle of the lower back. Its fibers gather into a tendon that ends on the front of the humerus.
Long head of the triceps brachii The only head of the triceps that starts on the scapula. It starts just below the shoulder socket. All three heads straighten the elbow.
Lateral head of the triceps brachii Starts on the back of the humerus, above the radial groove. It joins the same tendon as the other two heads.
Medial head of the triceps brachii Starts on the back of the humerus, below the radial groove. It lies deeper than the other two heads, which cover most of it.
Anconeus Helps the triceps straighten the elbow. A small muscle from the outer side of the humerus to the olecranon.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was checked on 2026-09-30 against OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 11.5 Muscles of the Pectoral Girdle and Upper Limbs, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/11-5-muscles-of-the-pectoral-girdle-and-upper-limbs; TeachMeAnatomy, Muscles of the Upper Arm, https://teachmeanatomy.info/upper-limb/muscles/upper-arm/, and its pages on the shoulder, pectoral region and forearm; and Wikipedia, List of skeletal muscles of the human body. The wording is in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The right arm from the front, then from behind. Show me the labels first switches on the labeled muscles in the arm, sixteen of them, so it works as an arm diagram labeled for study before the quiz takes the names away.

Read the full guide

Front view: the flexors

The deltoid caps the shoulder and the pectoralis major fans in from the chest. Below them the biceps brachii shows its two heads, with the coracobrachialis on the inner side and the brachialis underneath, showing at the edges. These are the muscles a lab sheet means by correctly label the pectoral and brachial muscles.

Back view: the extensors

Infraspinatus, teres minor and teres major run from the shoulder blade to the humerus, and the latissimus dorsi sweeps up from the lower back. The triceps brachii fills the back of the arm: long head on the inner side, lateral head on the outer, medial head lowest. Anconeus sits at the elbow.

Only one head of the triceps starts on the shoulder blade: the long head. The other two start on the humerus.
Look for the brachialis at the edges of the biceps: it lies underneath and adds power when the elbow bends.
Teres minor is part of the rotator cuff; teres major is not.

Questions and answers

What are the muscles of the upper arm?

Four: the biceps brachii, brachialis and coracobrachialis in the front compartment and the triceps brachii in the back. The quiz adds the shoulder muscles that move the arm and three forearm muscles that start at the elbow.

Is there an arm muscles unlabeled diagram to print?

Yes. The blank sheet shows both views with numbered rings, 1 to 8 on the front and 9 to 16 on the back, and a line for each name.

What are the three heads of the triceps brachii?

The long head, the lateral head and the medial head. The long head starts on the scapula; the other two start on the back of the humerus, above and below the radial groove. All three join one tendon to the olecranon of the ulna.

What are the two heads of the biceps brachii?

The long head and the short head. Both start on the scapula, the long head just above the shoulder socket and the short head on the coracoid process, and both end on the radius.