Spine
Xiphoid process
Processus xiphoideus
- How to find it
- Follow the sternum caudally until it narrows and the costal margin runs off on either side. The tip there is bony in some people and still cartilaginous in others, and its shape varies widely.
- What you use it for
- Attachment of the diaphragm and rectus abdominis. In resuscitation it is the lower limit: the hands belong above it, because pressure on the xiphoid can tear the liver.
- On the bone
- Body of sternum
- Body region
- Spine