A Case of Cervical Tab

Chun, Jae Hoon; Jeong, Sang Won; Cha, Seung Hoon; Park, Seok Don

Abstract

Cervical tab is one of rare developmental anomalies of the brachial apparatus which appears as firm, protruding papule or nodule on the neck along the line of anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. A 5 year-old male patient developed a pea sized, movable, semi-solid mass on the lower portion of right sternocleidomastoid muscle area. On microscopic examination, well-marginated oval shaped cartilage was present. Individual cells in the lacunae had ample cytoplasm and eccentric nucleus. Verhoeff-van Gieson stained section of the mass showed cartilage with a rich elastic network in the matrix, most heavily concentrated about the chondrocyte. We report a rare case of cervical tab manifesting as a skin-colored nodule on the sternocleidomastoid muscle area.