Sternum or breastbone is a long, flat bone located in the center of the thorax (chest). It connects to the rib bones via cartilage, forming the rib cage with them, and thus helps to protect the lungs and heart from physical trauma. The sternum is usually cut open (a sternotomy) to gain access to the thoracic contents when performing cardiothoracic surgery. Sternum - Overview. The sternum (Figs. 1 to 3) is an elongated, flattened bone, forming the middle portion of the anterior wall of the thor ...

Including:

• Sternum - Overview
• Sternum - Manubrium
• Sternum - Surfaces
• Sternum - Borders
• Sternum - Body
• Sternum - Surfaces
• Sternum - Borders
• Sternum - Xiphoid Process
• Sternum - Surfaces
• Sternum - Structure
• Sternum - Ossification
• Sternum - Articulations
• Sternum - Fractures of the Sternum

Read more here: » Sternum: Encyclopedia - Sternum

('manubrium sterni') The manubrium is the broad, upper part of the sternum. With a quadrangular shape, wider superiorly and narrower inferiorly, it articulates with the clavicles and the first two ribs. Sternum - Surfaces. Its anterior surface, convex from side to side, concave from above downward, is smooth, and affords attachment on either side to the sternal origins of the Pectoralis major and Sternocleidomastoideus. Sometimes the ridges limiting the attachment ...

See also:

Sternum, Sternum - Overview, Sternum - Manubrium, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Body, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Xiphoid Process, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Structure, Sternum - Ossification, Sternum - Articulations, Sternum - Fractures of the Sternum

Read more here: » Sternum: Encyclopedia II - Sternum - Manubrium

('corpus sterni; gladiolus') The body, considerably longer, narrower, and thinner than the manubrium, attains its greatest breadth close to the lower end. Sternum - Surfaces. Its anterior surface is nearly flat, directed upward and forward, and marked by three transverse ridges which cross the bone opposite the third, fourth, and fifth articular depressions. 18 It affords attachment on either side to the sternal origin of the Pectoralis major. At the junction of the third and fourth pieces of the body is occasionally seen an orifice, the sternal fo ...

See also:

Sternum, Sternum - Overview, Sternum - Manubrium, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Body, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Xiphoid Process, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Structure, Sternum - Ossification, Sternum - Articulations, Sternum - Fractures of the Sternum

Read more here: » Sternum: Encyclopedia II - Sternum - Body

The sternum (Figs. 1 to 3) is an elongated, flattened bone, forming the middle portion of the anterior wall of the thorax. Its upper end supports the clavicles (Collar bones), and its margins articulate with the cartilages of the first seven pairs of ribs. It consists of three parts, named from above downward, the manubrium, the body or gladiolus, and the xiphoid process; in early life the body consists of ...

See also:

Sternum, Sternum - Overview, Sternum - Manubrium, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Body, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Xiphoid Process, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Structure, Sternum - Ossification, Sternum - Articulations, Sternum - Fractures of the Sternum

Read more here: » Sternum: Encyclopedia II - Sternum - Overview

The sternum originally consists of two cartilaginous bars, situated one on either side of the median plane and connected with the cartilages of the upper nine ribs of its own side. These two bars fuse with each other along the middle line to form the cartilaginous sternum which is ossified from six centers: one for the manubrium, four for the body, and one for the xiphoid process [Fig. 4]. The ossific centers appear in the intervals between the articular depressions for the costal cartilages, in the following order: in t ...

See also:

Sternum, Sternum - Overview, Sternum - Manubrium, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Body, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Xiphoid Process, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Structure, Sternum - Ossification, Sternum - Articulations, Sternum - Fractures of the Sternum

Read more here: » Sternum: Encyclopedia II - Sternum - Ossification

('processus xiphoideus; ensiform or xiphoid appendix') The xiphoid process is the smallest of the three pieces: it is thin and elongated, cartilaginous in structure in youth, but more or less ossified at its upper part in the adult. The xiphoid process is an important landmark. Its articulation with the sternum at the xiphisternal joint gives an approximation of the inferior border of the thoracic cavity's projection onto the anterior body wall. The xiphoid process is at the approximate level of the upper border of the liver and the inferior border of the heart in the midline of the body. < ...

See also:

Sternum, Sternum - Overview, Sternum - Manubrium, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Body, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Borders, Sternum - Xiphoid Process, Sternum - Surfaces, Sternum - Structure, Sternum - Ossification, Sternum - Articulations, Sternum - Fractures of the Sternum

Read more here: » Sternum: Encyclopedia II - Sternum - Xiphoid Process