Rib

This article is about the bones called ribs. For other meanings, see rib (disambiguation).

In anatomy, ribs (Latin costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. Ribs surround the chest (Latin thorax) of land vertebrates, and protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thoracic cavity.

The human rib cage. (Source: Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th ed. 1918.)

Anterior surface of sternum and costal cartilages.

Look up rib in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

In mammals, one generally thinks of ribs occurring only in the chest. However, fused-on remnants of ribs can be traced in development in neck vertebrae (cervical ribs) and sacral vertebrae.

In reptiles, ribs sometimes occur in all vertebrae from the neck to the sacrum.

Fish can have up to four ribs on each vertebra and this can easily be seen in the herring, although not all fish have this many.

Humans (both male and female) have 24 ribs (12 sets). This was noted by the Flemish anatomist Vesalius in 1543 setting off a wave of controversy. (De Humani Corporis Fabrica [1])

See also

• Floating ribs
• Human rib cage
• Bone terminology
• Terms for anatomical ___location

References

• Clinically Oriented Anatomy, 4th ed. Keith L. Moore and Robert F. Dalley. pp. 62-64

Floating bones that help form and protect the chest cavity.