Sternalis Muscle in Living Individuals Identified with Computed Tomography

Turkay R., Ozdemir S., Gocgun N., Can T. S., Yilmaz B. K., Ikizceli T., ...More

JOURNAL OF THE ANATOMICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA, vol.71, no.2, pp.135-139, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 71 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.4103/jasi.jasi_204_21
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF THE ANATOMICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.135-139
  • Keywords: Anatomy, computed tomography, sternalis muscle, POPULATION, CLASSIFICATION, PREVALENCE
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Introduction: The sternalis muscle is a rare muscular variation of the anterior thoracic wall. When present, it can confuse the radiologists as a breast mass on mammograms and pose as a challenge and opportunity at the same time for surgeons during mastectomies or breast augmentation procedures. This study aims to investigate the frequency and anatomy of the sternalis muscle on a large Turkish sample. Material and Methods: Following ethical approval, the presence and anatomy of the sternalis muscle was investigated on thoracic computed tomography (CT) scans of 8408 patients. Results: The sternalis muscle was present in 263 (3.1%) patients. The presence of the muscle was unilateral on the right side in 104 (39.5%), unilateral on the left side in 96 (36.5%), and bilateral in 63 (24%) patients. In 326 hemithoraces, Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 sternalis muscles were observed in 79.2%, 14.4%, and 6.4% of the patients, respectively. Discussion and Conclusion: The frequency of the sternalis muscle among the Turkish population was relatively lower compared to the previous studies on different ethnicities. In addition, CT provides a detailed evaluation of the muscle.