Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Surgical Trunk Oriented Laparoscopic Right Hemicolectomy (ST-LRH) for Right-Sided Colon Cancer
Published on: July 25, 2025
Why do Zenker's diverticulae occur more often on the left than the right side?
N A Fitchat1, S Maharaj1, M O Kwete1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology,Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg,South Africa.
Background:
Zenker's diverticulum is a pharyngoesophageal outpouching of mucosa and submucosa through Killian's dehiscence.
Objective:
To investigate the propensity for Zenker's diverticulum to occur on the left side by examining muscle thickness in Killian's dehiscence, and to explore correlations between muscle thickness, sex, height and age.
Methods:
The study included 109 Caucasian cadavers, 52 male and 57 female. The mean thickest and thinnest measurements of left medial, left lateral, right medial and right lateral aspects of Killian's dehiscence were calculated. The paired student's t-test was used to determine significance.
Results:
The average left muscle layer was significantly thinner than the right muscle layer, in both medial and lateral aspects. Furthermore, medial muscle thickness was significantly thinner than its respective lateral aspect for both the left and right sides. No correlations were found between muscle thickness and cadavers' sex, length or stature, or age.
Conclusion:
There was a significant difference in muscle thickness between the left and right sides of Killian's dehiscence. The findings suggest there is a reason why Zenker's diverticulum occurs predominantly on the left side. The study also showed a significant difference in muscle thickness between the medial and lateral aspects of Killian's triangle.
More Related Videos
05:43The Role of Anatomical Dissection in Defining Colic and Small Bowel Artery Lymphovascular Bundles in the D3 Volume of Small and Large Bowel Mesentery
Published on: August 1, 2025
06:46Caudal-to-cranial Approach in Laparoscopic Right Hemicolectomy with Complete Mesocolon Excision and D3 Lymph Node Dissection
Published on: January 9, 2026
Related Concept Videos
Abdominal Regions and Quadrants
The simpler quadrants approach, which is more commonly used in medicine, subdivides the cavity with one horizontal and one vertical line that intersects at the patient's umbilicus (navel). The four quadrants...
Veins of Thorax
The azygos vein, positioned just right of the midline and anterior to the vertebral column, begins at the junction of the right ascending lumbar and subcostal veins, terminating in the superior vena cava. This vein drains blood from the right side of the thoracic wall, thoracic viscera, and posterior abdominal wall.
The...
Veins of the Abdomen and Pelvis
The inferior vena cava is fed by numerous smaller veins. The lumbar veins, for instance, drain the posterior abdominal wall, emptying both directly into the inferior vena cava and into the...
Esophageal Varices-I: Introduction
Diverticular Disease of the Colon
Appendicitis