Clinical importance of unusual patterns of tendinous intersections of rectus abdominis muscle.

ABSTRACT

The objective of the present study was to note the different patterns of tendinous intersections of rectus abdominis muscle and its surgical importance. The tendinous intersections of rectus abdominis muscle were studied in dissected 46 human cadavers dissected over a span of 3 years. Only two unusual patterns of intersections; one with tendinous intersections arched, and the other with the intersections at different levels on the right and left sides of the same cadaver, were observed, in two different cadavers. The tendinous intersections are the sites of anastomosis of numerous blood vessels. Surgeons using the the Transverse Rectus Abdominis (TRAM) flap in autogenous breast constructive surgeries should be aware of such unusual patterns so as to design the TRAM flap accordingly. Biomechanics of rectus abdominis muscle may also be influenced by arched pattern of tendinous intersections instead of normal transverse pattern.