Sternocleidohyoid muscle: an unreported variant of cleidohyoid muscle

Abstract

Sternohyoid, sternothyroid, omohyoid, and thyrohyoid muscles are collectively known as infrahyoid muscles. These muscles frequently show variations in their attachments. Here, an extremely rare variant muscle belonging to this group has been presented. During cadaveric dissection for undergraduate medical students, an additional muscle was found between sternohyoid and superior belly of omohyoid muscles bilaterally in a male cadaver aged approximately 70 years. This muscle took its origin from posterior surface of the manubrium sterni, capsule of the sternoclavicular joint and the posterior surface of the medial part of the clavicle. It was inserted to the hyoid bone between the attachments of sternohyoid and superior belly of omohyoid muscles and was supplied by a branch of ansa cervicalis profunda. There is no report on such a muscle in the literature and it could be named as “sternocleidohyoid muscle”. Knowledge of this muscle could be useful in neck surgeries.