The majority of sterna-viz., 87 per cent.-are asymmetrical, while about 13 per cent. are approximately
The most notable irregularity is a depression of the clavicular facet, accompanied by a corresponding diminution of the vertical
depth of the sternum on the same side, present on the right side in 50 per cent. of sterna, and on the left side in 37 per
cent.
The interval between the articular facets for the 1st and 2nd rib cartilages is usually less on one side than on the other,
being narrower on the right side in about 44 per cent., and equal in about 28 per cent. of sterna.
In the majority of sterna the symphysis between the manubrium and gladiolus is oblique, sloping downwards on the right side
more frequently than on the left.
Finally there is, in about 59 per cent. of sterna, a longitudinal curve traversing the whole bone, the convexity of which
is directed a little more frequently to the right than to the left.
Read before the Section of Anatomy and Physiology of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, Friday, May 22, 1896.