Anatomy
The sternal angle, which varies around 162 degrees in males, marks the approximate level of the 2nd pair of costal cartilages, which attach to the second ribs, and the level of the intervertebral disc between T4 and T5. The angle also marks a number of other features:
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- Boundary between the superior and inferior portion of the mediastinum
- Passage of the thoracic duct from right to left behind esophagus
- Aortic Arch
- Tracheal Bifurcation
- End of the azygos system into SVC
- Ligamentum arteriosum
- Loop of left recurrent laryngeal nerve around aortic arch
- Aortic arch starts and ends
Read more about this topic: Sternal Angle
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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“Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)