Errogie
21-Sep-09, 20:49
It's not every day that you are able to discover a "new" part of what you thought was a fairly familiar and well known body. Several weeks ago I was lying in bed thinking about breakfast and happened to rub my stomach just below the ribs in anticipation of bacon, eggs and mushrooms when I came on a very hard nob of something roughly over where your liver might be.
Between the lower ribs and slightly to one side, very hard and firm, what on earth could it be? After several days it was still there and even seemed to be larger now the fingers could find it more easily, so down to the local saw bones for some advice.
Relief and a ready explanation even an illustration on the pc. It was, wait for it, my "Xiphoid Process" a cartaliginous extension to the sternum which helps tie the ribs together and allows the chest to expand and contract. As you grow older the cartalige becomes harder, ossified, and may be slightly offset as mine is, hence harder and more obvious to the touch particularly if you're like me not too well upholstered.
So, I'm quite pleased to know about my xiphoid process and that it's not something to be concerned about but I still put my finger there on occasion and can see the text book illustration of what lies under the flesh.
Between the lower ribs and slightly to one side, very hard and firm, what on earth could it be? After several days it was still there and even seemed to be larger now the fingers could find it more easily, so down to the local saw bones for some advice.
Relief and a ready explanation even an illustration on the pc. It was, wait for it, my "Xiphoid Process" a cartaliginous extension to the sternum which helps tie the ribs together and allows the chest to expand and contract. As you grow older the cartalige becomes harder, ossified, and may be slightly offset as mine is, hence harder and more obvious to the touch particularly if you're like me not too well upholstered.
So, I'm quite pleased to know about my xiphoid process and that it's not something to be concerned about but I still put my finger there on occasion and can see the text book illustration of what lies under the flesh.