Erschienen in:
01.04.2014 | Original Article
Prevalence and variance of the sternalis muscle: a study in the Chinese population using multi-detector CT
verfasst von:
Zufeng Ge, Yunlong Tong, Shiqiang Zhu, Xiong Fang, Lang Zhuo, Xiangyang Gong
Erschienen in:
Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy
|
Ausgabe 3/2014
Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten
Abstract
Objective
To analyze the prevalence, anatomical features, as well as variance of the sternalis muscle in the Chinese population using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT).
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed 6,000 adult axial MDCT images to determine the overall and gender prevalence of the sternalis muscles. We also analyzed the side prevalence and anatomical features, including shape, size, location and course.
Results
The sternalis muscle was present in 347 (5.8 %) of 6,000 adults. This muscle was more common in males (6.0 %, 187/3091) than in females (5.5 %, 160/2909). Among the 347 adults, 118 (34.0 %) had bilateral sternalis muscles; 148 (42.7 %) had right sternalis muscles; and 81 (23.3 %) had left sternalis muscles. The sternalis muscle was either flat or nodular and located superficial to the major pectoral muscles on CT axial transverse images. According to the muscle morphology and course, we classified sternalis muscles as three different types and nine subtypes. The muscles appeared with a single head and single belly in 58.5 %, double or multiple heads in 18.1 %, and double or multiple bellies in 23.4 %. The mean length, width and thickness were 111.1 ± 33.0, 17.7 ± 9.9 and 4.1 ± 1.7 mm measured on MDCT.
Conclusion
The sternalis muscle was highly prevalent in normal Chinese adults. MDCT is an effective method to demonstrate this muscle in vivo.