DENVER â This month, Kaiser Permanente Colorado launches a PPO (preferred provider organization) suite of products as part of its expanded product portfolio for large businesses. Denver/Boulder employers with more than 50 employees can now choose coverage from three suites of products, HMO, PPO and POS insurance plans.
Xiphoid Process Pain â Anatomy, Causes and Treatment. The xiphoid process, also called xiphosternum and metasternum, lies at the level of 10th thoracic vertebrae. It is also the lowest and the smallest part of the sternum, marks the lower limit of the thoracic cavity and the lower border of the heart. At birth, the xiphoid process is cartilaginous, but it slowly ossifies (turns to bone) from the central core after middle age (usually around 40 years of age).
These are flat polygonal bones that develop independently of the ribs and are first apparent at about 35 days gestation as a pair of mesenchymal bars lateral to the ventral midline in the thoracic region. Chest wall anatomy-rib cage. The manubrium forms first, followed by the sternal body and then the xiphoid process. The manubrium is located at the level of the T3 and T4 vertebral bodies and is the widest and thickest of the 3 sternal bones.