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Trifid and ventrally curved xiphoid process with two sternal foramina

  • Anatomical variation
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Abstract

In this report, we present the case of a 56-year-old man with an asymptomatic, ventrally curved, trifid xiphoid process with two foramina found incidentally during a CT screening. The objective of this report is to advance the knowledge and recognition of such variations and to discuss the clinical relevance. The xiphoid process was trifid with two xiphoid foramina, one above the other, between the middle and right processes. The right process was longest (approximately 4 cm) and the middle process, the shortest (approximately 2 cm). The upper xiphoid foramen was larger (approximately 0.5 cm) than the lower one (approximately 0.3 cm). No additional musculoskeletal variations were observed on imaging. In summary, this constellation of distinctive variations of the xiphoid process in a single individual provide an opportunity to further discuss the development of the sternum, associated anatomical variations, and potential clinical ramifications from such variations in hopes of advancing knowledge and recognition of such anomalies for clinicians.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Tristan Chun

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Joe Iwanaga, Aaron S. Dumont & R. Shane Tubbs

  3. Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 131 S. Robertson St. Suite 1300, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Joe Iwanaga & R. Shane Tubbs

  4. Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada

    R. Shane Tubbs

  5. Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

    R. Shane Tubbs

  6. Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

    R. Shane Tubbs

  7. Department of Neurosurgery and Ochsner Neuroscience Institute, Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA, USA

    R. Shane Tubbs

  8. University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    R. Shane Tubbs

Authors
  1. Tristan Chun
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  2. Joe Iwanaga
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  3. Aaron S. Dumont
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  4. R. Shane Tubbs
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Contributions

RST conceived the concept and designed the study; TC, JI and RST contributed to the concept; JI and RST acquired the data; TC and JI wrote the manuscript; ASD and RST edited the manuscript, and all the authors approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joe Iwanaga.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The present study was performed in accordance with the requirements of the Declaration of Helsinki (64th WMA General Assembly, Fortaleza, Brazil, October 2013).). The present study protocol did not require approval by the ethics committees of our institutions.

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Chun, T., Iwanaga, J., Dumont, A.S. et al. Trifid and ventrally curved xiphoid process with two sternal foramina. Surg Radiol Anat 44, 1253–1255 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-03011-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-03011-9

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