Unilateral rectus sternalis muscle - a case report

Abstract

Rectus sternalis muscle, either unilateral or bilateral is an uncommon anatomical variant among the anterior chest wall muscles. During the routine dissection as a part of undergraduate medical teaching in the department of Anatomy, a unilateral rectus sternalis muscle was noticed on the right hemi thorax in one cadaver, located adjacent to the sternum between the pectoralis major muscle and the superficial fascia of the region. Though rare in occurrence, when present, rectus sternalis muscle demands proper awareness and attention by the clinicians especially radiologists and surgeons, as the ignorance of the existence of this muscle may lead to misinterpretation, incorrect diagnosis and unnecessary clinical interventions. Such anatomical variations should be borne in mind while doing radiological investigations, radiotherapy and surgical procedures in the chest region.

Keywords

• rectus sternalis
• unilateral
• dissection