The Ribcage

Keywords

Ribcage, false ribs, breast bone, sternum, thoracic vertebrae, spine.

Introduction

We have a set of bones that protects our internal organs from the outside world, due to their need of being important parts of our body. The ribcage does this brilliantly.

What is the Ribcage?

Ideally, the ribcage is a basketlike shape that wraps around the top half of the body. It forms part of what we call the chest. There are 24 ribs in total that [some] connect to the sternumOtherwise called the breast bone, or plate. and the spine. There are a few ribs that don't connect to the sternum, and they are commonly known as false ribs.

From the very top of the ribcage, as you proceed toward the lower ribs, the curvature of the bones decreases, and the cage becomes more open. It is semirigid, and allows for expansion, which is just as well when you need to breathe in and out with your lungs.

What does the Ribcage do?

It protects the soft tissue organs, such as the lungs, liver and heart from being crushed from external sources (such as heavy objects, gravity, someone laying on top of you, and so on). It also provides the function of muscle attachment to bones in the area.

Interesting fact: some ribs in our rib cage are called false ribs. This is simply because they do not attach to the breast plate (sternum).

The following YouTube video explains the functions and the names of the ribcage well.

So, watching the video above will have shown you that the ribcage has 12 ribs down each side, each either connected to the sternum (breast bone), or to the thoracic vertebrae (spine).