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Lowered hyoid bone overlapping the thyroid cartilage in CT angiograms

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Abstract

Background

The ventral enclosure of the thyroid cartilage by a collapsed hyoid bone (CHB) is poorly encountered in previous research. It was aimed to observe whether or not these malformations could be found and detailed anatomically in a consistent lot of computed tomography (CT) files.

Methods

Two hundred archived CT angiograms were explicitly observed for the CHB anatomical variant.

Results

Different possibilities of CHB were found in 6/200 cases, five males and one female. The symmetrical overlap of the thyroid cartilage by the hyoid body was found in one male case. In three cases, two males and one female, there was asymmetrical overlapping due to tilted hyoid bones. In one male case with such asymmetrical CHD, an ossified anterior longitudinal ligament was noted: the tips of the superior horns of the thyroid cartilage reached lateral to it, thus being retropharyngeal. A different male case had a lowered hyoid with a greater horn fused to the superior horn of the thyroid cartilage, with an interposed ossified triticeal cartilage. In the last male case, the right greater horn collapsed laterally to an ossified triticeal cartilage fused with the thyroid cartilage's superior horn.

Conclusions

The CHB is an undeniable anatomical possibility of an atavism that alters conventional anatomical and surgical landmarks. Different anatomical components of the hyoid bone can descend uni- or bilaterally.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Anatomy, Department 1, Faculty of Dentistry, “Carol Davila”, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroilor Sanitari Blvd, 050474, Bucharest, Romania

    Mugurel Constantin Rusu, Răzvan Costin Tudose & Alexandra Diana Vrapciu

  2. University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, 050098, Bucharest, Romania

    Alexandra Diana Vrapciu

  3. Department 11 of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Şerban Arghir Popescu

Authors
  1. Mugurel Constantin Rusu
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  2. Răzvan Costin Tudose
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  3. Alexandra Diana Vrapciu
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  4. Şerban Arghir Popescu
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Contributions

M.C.R. and R.C.T. documented the cases. A.D.V. and Ş.A.P. documented literature. M.C.R. prepared figures. R.C.T. and Ş.A.P. wrote the manuscript draft. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mugurel Constantin Rusu.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

The research was conducted ethically in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki). Due to the retrospective nature of this study, informed consent was waived. The responsible authorities (affiliation 2) approved the study (approval no.10540/16.02.2022).

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Rusu, M.C., Tudose, R.C., Vrapciu, A.D. et al. Lowered hyoid bone overlapping the thyroid cartilage in CT angiograms. Surg Radiol Anat 46, 333–339 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-024-03300-5

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