Bilateral accessory anterior bellies of the digastric muscle and review ofthe literature

Objective: The aim of our paper is discussing anomalies of the anterior bel ly of the digastric muscle with presenting our case in light literature. Me thods: During dissection of the submental region of 26 years old Turkish fe male embedded cadaver, for this educational purpose in 2000, bilateral acce ssory digastric muscle was observed. Results: The anterior and posterior be llies of the digastric muscle had their normal origin and course and were j oined by an intermediate tendon, the accessory anterior bellies originated from the digastric fossa. and inserted to the hyoid bone, with a common fib rous band. The accessory anterior bellies of the digastric muscle were in t he same shape and coursed parallel to each other. Conclusion: Anatomical va riations of the anterior bellies of the digastric muscles can be easily con fused with pathological conditions in CT and MR imaging, it is necessary to recognize that muscle variants of the digastric muscle occur to avoid conf usion when diagnosing abnormal lesions of the floor of the mouth and submen tal region. In human body, such as these muscle variations have clinical si gnificance. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.