Anatomic study of complex anomalies of the digastric muscle and review of the literature.

Abstract

The digastric muscles of 99 cadavers were examined bilaterally. In 5 of them, the digastric muscles showed different types of complex abnormalities. These complex anomalies should be kept in mind in functional studies involving the floor of mouth and evaluating the same structures with CT and MR imaging. Secondly, the embryological basis of the isolated anomalies of the anterior digastric muscle with respect to its occurrence together with the mylohyoid muscle stressed in this article needs further studies of their development from the first branchial arch.