Anatomical Insight into the Sternal Foramen: A CT Based Study of Prevalence and Morphology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51985/Keywords:
Congenital defect, CT, Human sternum, Morphology, Sternal foramen, Suprasternal notch, Xiphisternum.Abstract
Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence and anatomical variations of the sternal foramen (SF) in Pakistani population, and to emphasize its critical clinical significance in preventing complications-such as cardiac tamponade and pneumothorax-during anterior chest wall interventions.
Study Design and Setting: This retrospective, observational CT based morphometric study on human sternum was carried out in Pakistani population at M. Islam Teaching Hospital, Gujranwala from December 2023 to October 2024. Methodology: The evaluation of images was done using coronal multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) over axial images. The diameters of the detected sternal foramina along with its distance from suprasternal notch and xiphisternum were measured. Male and female groups were compared for differences in various dimensions of the sternal foramina. For statistical analysis, SPSS version 27.0 was used.
Results: In the present study, 580 CT scans were observed. The incidence of sternal foramina in our study is 9.31% (54 out of 580) with 19 men and 35 women. The results showed that both transverse and vertical diameters are generally larger in males than females, with p-value statistically significant. A larger proportion of females (68.6%) have the sternal foramen in the body of the sternum compared to males (52.6%). Maximum number of sternal foramina were observed at the level of the 5th intercostal space 16.67% (n=9).
Conclusion: Awareness of sternal foramina, a congenital defect, is essential for medical professionals to diagnose and prevent complications during surgery, particularly when considering varying prevalence and characteristics across populations
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