DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2018.v06i04.014

Pages: 378-383

Rectus sternalis is a rare muscle found in the anterior chest wall superficial to the pectoralis major muscle. We report a case of rectus sternalis on the right anterior thoracic wall of a 55-year- old female cadaver. The incidence of a unilateral rectus sternalis was found to be twice as that of a bilateral muscle. Rectus sternalis develops from the ventrolateral lip of somitomere along with other muscles such as infrahyoid muscles. Rectus sternalis when present may interfere with the interpretation of mammograms while screening for breast cancer. The muscle may be confused with a relapsed tumour after mastectomy. Knowledge of rectus sternalis is essential for accurate interpretation of mammograms by the radiologists.