title: Duplicated right crus of the diaphragm: a cadaveric case report.
abstract: The lumbar part of the diaphragm arises from the lumbar vertebrae by right and left crura. The duplication of crura of the diaphragm is rarely reported in the past. During regular dissection classes to the medical students, we came across a case of duplicated right crus of the diaphragm. The right crus of the diaphragm was duplicated completely and presented two separate crura; medial right crus & lateral right crus. The medial right crus was attached to the anterolateral surfaces of the superior three lumbar vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs and merged with the anterior longitudinal ligament. The lateral right crus attached only to the intervertebral disc between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae. These two crura bordered a retrocrural space in the inferior posterior mediastinum. The greater and lesser splanchnic nerves entered the abdomen by passing through this space. No duplication was observed in the left crus. The muscle fibres of medial right crus contributed to the formation of the esophageal opening. Knowledge of variations in the diaphragmatic crural anatomy is useful in the diagnosis of disease processes in the retrocrural space and also might help while performing the surgical repair of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Srinivasa Rao
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Sirasanagandla
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Satheesha B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Kumar Mr
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Sudarshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Surendran
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Deepthinath
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Regunathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Naveen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Surekha D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Jyothsna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patil
keywords: crura; diaphragm; gastroesophageal reflux; hiatus; lumbar; retrocrural space