x like xiophoid process

X as in Xiphoid Process

What is the xiphoid process?  It’s the tip of your sternal bone, which points downward like a serrated dagger and helps keep your ribcage from flopping open.  Contrary to popular belief, the xiphoid process is NOT:  a tumor, a hypertrophic pyloric muscle, a lipoma, an absorbed fetal twin, or the chicken bone you may have swallowed when you were three years old!

·         Genetically, some gene-lines are predisposed to producing “bifid” (two-pronged) xiphoid processes, similar to bifid uvulae.

·         In newborns and infants, the xiphoid is still not fully fused to the rest of the sternum, causing it to occasionally “protrude” visibly when the baby is straining to make poopies, leading parents to come rushing to the clinic in a panic.

·         In adults, the xiphoid process is usually not very visible or palpable, but sometimes an adult  will “discover” this worrisome lump, causing that person to be alarmed.

Find it on yourself:

·  Lay down on a flat surface, face up, hips and knees bent so that your feet are also flat on the floor/bed/counter-top/morgue table.

·  Use both hands to grasp the edge of your ribcage, where it meets your abdomen.

·  Slide both hands towards the center of your body until they meet in a little “notch".

·  Inhale deeply, then exhale all the way out.

·  As you finished exhaling, did you feel a small jagged pointy bony object poking into your fingertips?  This is your xiphoid process.