Morphometric study of sternal foramen in adult human dry sternum

Sternal foramens are congenital defects of sternum. It develops as a result of incomplete fusion of sternabrae. This study was conducted in Department of Anatomy, Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli in 50 adult dry sternum. Our aim is to observe the presence or absence of the sternal foramen, the location, number, shape and size of the foramen. In our study 14% of sternum has sternal foramen. Single foramen is present in 5 bones, Double foraminae present in 2 bones. We review our study with previous studies. Awareness of sternal variations such as sternal foramen is important for Radiologists and in Forensic Medicine for proper interpretation. Sound knowledge about this variant is important in bone marrow aspiration and acupuncture practice to avoid complications