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Evidence of the sternalis muscle in two South African cadavers

  • Anatomic Variations
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Abstract

The sternalis muscle is an infrequent, non-pathological anatomical variant typically misrepresented in a clinical context. It presents with 3–8% prevalence, according to cadaveric studies. The muscles were identified during routine cadaver prosection at the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. Here, we report two cases of the sternalis muscle in two South African White cadavers. Analysis of the sternalis muscles revealed unilaterally present, distinctly defined muscle masses on the right (case number 1, female) and left (case number 2, male) hemithorax, lateral to the sternum. The muscles occurred with a prevalence of 2.25% within the cadaveric population examined. The prevalence of the sternalis muscle is generally low, especially in the European population. Their presence represents the remnants of the cutaneous muscles in the ventral thorax of lower animals. Clinically, the sternalis muscle may be misinterpreted as a pathological mass or lesion, thus accurate knowledge regarding its variations and prevalence is of importance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Carol Hartmann (School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand) for her dissection assistance in this study. The authors express their gratitude for the individuals who donated their bodies for medical teaching purposes. Without these individuals, this publication would not be possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa

    Joshua G. Davimes, Nicholas Bacci & Pedzisai Mazengenya

Authors
  1. Joshua G. Davimes
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  2. Nicholas Bacci
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  3. Pedzisai Mazengenya
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Contributions

JGD, NB and PM carried out the study design and drafting of the manuscript. JGD and NB performed data acquisition and analysis as well as cadaver dissection. JGD, NB and PM made a critical review of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joshua G. Davimes.

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Ethics clearance

The current study was conducted under the ethical clearance waiver number: W-CJ-140604-1 conferred to the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Davimes, J.G., Bacci, N. & Mazengenya, P. Evidence of the sternalis muscle in two South African cadavers. Surg Radiol Anat 40, 1313–1317 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2058-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2058-5

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