Accessory Right Crus of the Diaphragm – a Case Report

Abstract

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped sheet of muscle that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities. Diaphragm is the principle muscle of inspiration and is present only in mammals. The muscle fibres, forming the periphery of the partition, arise from the circumference of the thoracic outlet and are inserted into a central tendon. During routine gross anatomy dissection of the abdomen, for the purpose of teaching medical students, in a middle-aged male cadaver, we observed an unusual morphology of the right crus of diaphragm. There were two crura on the right side of diaphragm and the left side was normal. Therefore, an attempt has been made to highlight its embryological basis and clinical implications.

Keywords: accessory crura, crus, diaphragm anomaly