The sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) functions as a landmark for physicians such as anatomists, orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and anaesthesiologists, who intervene in the minor supraclavicular fossa located at the base of the neck. The variability of SCM anatomy may cause complications while trying to access the vital elements that are located in the minor supraclavicular fossa. This stu...

Doxorubicin chemomyectomy is a potent method for the permanent removal of a muscle or group of muscles after direct local injection, and has been used successfully to treat blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm patients. The efficacy of doxorubicin chemomyectomy on reducing muscle strength after direct injection of doxorubicin into rabbit sternocleidomastoid muscle was tested. One- and 6-month pos...

We report here on a rare case of lipoma in the deep lobe of the parotid gland. MRI revealed that the tumour was situated mainly in the deep lobe and it extended posteriorly and medially into the space between the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the posterior belly of the digastric muscle, with slight extension into the parapharyngeal space. This tumour produced strong signals on T1- and T2-weigh...

Slippage after reduction of atlantoaxial rotatory fixation (AARF) is usually treated with repeated cervical traction and brace immobilization. To date, no data have been published on the management of muscle spasm during treatment. Here, we describe the case of a 7-year-old girl with AARF for 1 month who visited our hospital for treatment. During physical examination, spasm of the sternocleidom...

To cite: Singh HP, Kumar S, Agarwal SP. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2013202786 DESCRIPTION A 56-year-old man visited the ENT (ear-nose-throat) department for his left earache, which revealed the diagnosis of acute otitis externa of fungal origin. He was given standard treatment of aural toilet, antifungal ear drops and analgesics. During routin...

Muscular echinococcosis accounts for 0.5% to 5.4% of all hydatid disease cases, with very little data on the incidence of muscular echinococcosis of the head and neck. We report a unique case of primary echinococcosis of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle in a 56-year-old man. Preoperative assessment by ultrasound and fine needle aspiration did not point to echinococcosis. We suspected the ri...

The topography of the cortical motor projection to the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles was investigated in 15 normal subjects using the technique of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Contrary to the long-held view that the representation of the neck muscles in the motor strip is close to that of the face, our findings indicate that the projection to both the ipsilateral and contralateral SCM...