Short axis scan of rotator cuff: Normal scan has 3 layers: rotator cuff, deltoid muscle, and subcutaneous tissue. Loss of a layer as seen in this image strongly suggests complete rotator cuff tear.
this is a scan using the linear transducer on a musculoskeletal preset and here we are on the short axis of the rotator cuff and immediately we'll see this bright white line as the humerus and there's this discontinuity in the rotator cuff coming from the interval this is the biceps tendon and coming out to the supraspinatus this loss of height is strongly suggestive of a rotator cuff tear whereas we have the deltoid and the subcutaneous tissue here above as we scan back and forth across the rotator cuff this should be a nice continuous line but instead we see this big divot suggestive of a full thickness tear
