Sternal foramen
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
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 Liz Silverstone had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Liz Silverstone'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. Xiphoid foramen can also occur, but is of lesser clinical significance 4.
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Epidemiology
They are common, occurring in approximately 5% of the population (range 4.3-6.7%).
Diagnosis
Sternal foramina are most commonly asymptomatic incidental findings on CT, typically found in the inferior portion of the sternal body.
Pathology
Sternal foraminae result from incomplete fusion of multiple right and left primary ossification centers in a single sternebra and are most frequent from the 2nd to 4th sternebrae. The size can vary from 2-16 mm and the defect is typically impalpable.
Differential diagnosis
Small foramina could be mistaken for sternal fractures.
Practical points
Blind interventions such as marrow biopsy could injure the pericardium, right ventricle, aorta or lung 5.
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
- 5. Choi P, Iwanaga J, Tubbs R. A Comprehensive Review of the Sternal Foramina and Its Clinical Significance. Cureus. 2017;9(12):e1929. doi:10.7759/cureus.1929 - Pubmed
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