Sternal Foramina Detected by Postmortem Computed Tomography in the Japanese Population: Prevalence and Developmental Patterns.

Summary: Did you know some people are born with a small, hidden hole in their breastbone? It's called a sternal foramen. Researchers in Japan looked at over 1,500 CT scans and found that nearly 4 out of every 100 adults have this harmless hole. Most of the time, it doesn't cause any problems at all. However, because this hole sits right over the heart and lungs, doctors really need to know it's there before doing medical procedures like chest injections or surgeries. The study also looked at kids and found that these holes start forming early in life when the chest bones don't fuse together perfectly as we grow.