The Deep Clavicular Rhomboid Fossa

IN THE SHORT period of three weeks, we have encountered three cases in which a deep rhomboid fossa of the clavicle was noted roentgenographically. The rhomboid fossa is familiar to radiologists and consists of a roughened area along the lower surface of the medial end of the clavicle which serves as an attachment for the costoclavicular ligament. The latter binds the clavicle to the first rib.1Our interest lies in persons in whom the fossa is exaggerated so that the roentgen appearance is that of a crescentic defect which is delineated from the remainder of the clavicle by a band of increased density. Pendergrass and Hodes2wrote a comprehensive report on the subject in 1937. Several others3-7have written on the subject subsequently. In 1959, Perry et al8recorded a case of a pathologic fracture of the clavicle following biopsy of the rhomboid fossa. It was