Purpose Statement

Understanding of anatomical location of the umbilicus is required for umbilical reconstruction. There is a common belief that human is born with a mid-line umbilicus. However there is no known anatomical study to answer this question.

Methods and Materials

Measurement of 20 randomly selected full-term neonates were performed in the well baby nursery. Horizontal distances from the anteriosuperior iliac spine to the lateral aspects of the umbilicus, and the diameter of the umbilicus were measured. Measurements were performed with a metric ruler. Results were recorded in a spreadsheet. The percentages of deviation between the actual locations of the umbilicus and the calculated mid-line were calculated.

Result and Conclusion

Measurements of 20 neonates, 8 girls, 12 boys, revealed that 5 patients (25%), had umbilici located in the true mid-line. These 5 patients were all boys. Seven (35%) patients had umbilici deviated to the right, eight (40%) patients to the left. Twenty five percent of umbilici deviated less than a 2% distance from the mid-line. Twenty five percent of umbilici deviated between 2% to 3.99% distance. Twenty five percent of umbilici deviated between 4% to 8.99% distance. This study demonstrates that majority of the subjects did not have mid-line umbilici.