Sternal foramen
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At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Laura Gregory had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Laura Gregory's current disclosures- Perforated sternum
- Sternal foramina
Sternal foramen (or perforated sternum) is a developmental variant of the sternum and results from incomplete fusion of the sternal ossification centers. They are common, occurring in approximately 5% of the population (range 4.3-6.7%). They are most commonly found in the inferior aspect of the sternal body as the 2nd to 4th sternebrae most often form from multiple primary ossification centers. Incomplete fusion of multiple right and left centers in a single sternebra can result in the formation of a sternal foramen.
Small foramina can be mistaken for sternal fractures.
Xiphoid foramen can also occur, but is of lesser clinical significance 4.
References
- 1. Gossner J. Relationship of sternal foramina to vital structures of the chest: a computed tomographic study. Anat Res Int. 2013;2013: 780193. doi:10.1155/2013/780193 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
- 2. Tarladacalisir T, Karamustafaoglu YA. A rare entity: sternal foramen. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2013;44 (2): 384. doi:10.1093/ejcts/ezt091 - Pubmed citation
- 3. AKTAN, Zühre Aslı. "Anatomic and HRCT demonstration of midline sternal foramina." Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences 28.5 (1998): 511-514.
- 4. Chary Duraikannu, Olma V Noronha, Pushparajan Sundarrajan. MDCT evaluation of sternal variations: Pictorial essay. (2016) Indian Journal of Radiology and Imaging. 26 (2): 185. doi:10.4103/0971-3026.184407 - Pubmed
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