The sternum is a flat bone located on midline in front of the rib cage. It has three parts called manubrium sterni, corpus sterni and processus xiphoideus. Round or oval defects in the sternum, developed during the formation of the bone in the embryological period are called foramen sternale. This common variation of the sternum was first described in the 17th century.
Variations in the sternum are usually noticed on imaging studies or at autopsies. Foramen sternale should be distinguished from osteolytic, primary neoplastic, and metastatic lesions. In addition, foramen sternale can be misdiagnosed as a bullet injury in autopsy. It is also important that the physician should have knowledge about this variation before invasive procedures such as sternum bone marrow aspiration, sternotomy for cardiac surgery or acupuncture.
It is clinically necessary to distinguish the pathological conditions of variations in the human skeleton. Knowledge of the physicians about foramen sternale, which is a common variant of sternum, can help to prevent wrong diagnoses and treatments.
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