Suprasternal notch
{{Short description|Visible dip in the neck in humans}}
{{Infobox bone
| Name = Suprasternal notch
| Latin = incisura jugularis sternalis,
fossa jugularis sterni
| Image = SSNa - Suprasternal notch.png
| Caption = Suprasternal notch (indicated by yellow circle)
| Image2 = Gray1194.png
| Caption2 = The position of the suprasternal notch seen here, labelled as "jugular notch"
| Location = Bottom of the neck; above the manubrium of the sternum, and between the two clavicles
}}
The suprasternal notch, also known as the fossa jugularis sternalis, jugular notch, or Plender gap, is a large, visible dip in between the neck in humans, between the clavicles, and above the manubrium of the sternum.
Screenwriter Samson Raphaelson invented the term "ucipital mapilary" to describe the suprasternal notch for Suspicion (1941), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.{{cite web|url=https://chen1923.blogspot.com/2006/11/ucipital-mapilary.html|title=Ucipital mapilary?|website=Principal Wei's Weblog|date=12 November 2006}}
Structure
The suprasternal notch is a visible dip in between the neck, between the clavicles, and above the manubrium of the sternum. It is at the level of the T2 and T3 vertebrae.{{Citation|last1=Fessler|first1=Richard G.|title=Chapter 191 - Surgical Approaches to the Cervicothoracic Junction|date=2012-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781416068396101911|work=Schmidek and Sweet Operative Neurosurgical Techniques (Sixth Edition)|pages=2177–2191|editor-last=Quiñones-Hinojosa|editor-first=Alfredo|place=Philadelphia|publisher=W.B. Saunders|language=en|isbn=978-1-4160-6839-6|access-date=2021-01-06|last2=Kim|first2=Daniel H.}} The trachea lies just behind it, rising about 5 cm above it in adults.{{Citation|last1=Colson|first1=Y. L.|title=TRACHEOSTOMY|date=2006-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123708796003859|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Respiratory Medicine|pages=239–242|editor-last=Laurent|editor-first=Geoffrey J.|place=Oxford|publisher=Academic Press|language=en|isbn=978-0-12-370879-3|access-date=2021-01-06|last2=Paul|first2=S.|editor2-last=Shapiro|editor2-first=Steven D.}}
Clinical significance
Intrathoracic pressure is measured by using a transducer held in such a way over the body that an actuator engages the soft tissue that is located above the suprasternal notch. Arcot J. Chandrasekhar, MD of Loyola University, Chicago, is the author of an evaluative test for the aorta using the suprasternal notch.{{LoyolaMedEd|MEDICINE/PULMONAR/PD/pstep37a.htm}} - Evaluative tests using the suprasternal notch The test can help recognize the following conditions:
- Aneurysm
- Dissecting aneurysm
- Atherosclerosis
- Hypertension
To carry out this test, it is necessary to place an index finger or middle finger on the notch and palpate it. A prominent pulse may be indicative of an uncoiled aorta, an arch aneurysm, or a tortuous blood vessel.