History and nomenclature
Duplay (1896) described the disabling combination of shoulder
pain and restricted movement as peri-arthrite scapulo-hum erale,
attributing the condition to inflammation of the subacromial bursa.
The term periarthritis of the shoulder has been used by others, both
as a diagnosis and to explain the pathology (Dickson and Crosby,
1932; Wright and Haq, 1976). With the advent of radiographs,
calcific deposits were observed, and for a period of time, the pain
and stiffness was attributed by some to this newly observed phenomenon
(Baer, 1907)