A 23-year-old woman with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis presented with the complaint of palpable swelling in the left neck region, which she had noticed for the last 1 year. Physical examination revealed a firm, painless mass in the left cervical region. A chest X-ray (A) shows the unilateral asymmetric cervical rib (Figure 1).
Cervical ribs are rare anatomical anomalies and the supernumerary ribs arising mostly from the seventh cervical vertebrae are believed to result from mutation of HOX genes (1). They are usually bilateral but often asymmetric and are more common in females. In 90% of cases, they tend to be asymptomatic but can cause thoracic outlet syndrome by compression of the brachial plexus or subclavian artery/vein.
Ethics
Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from our patient included in this study.
Peer-review: Externally peer-reviewed.
Financial Disclosure: The author declared that this study received no financial support.