A bifid rib is a congenital abnormality occurring in about 1% of the population. The sternal end of the rib is cleaved into 2. It is usually unilateral.
Usually it is clinically silent but it may present as a coincidental finding on chest radiography when there appears to be 8 vertebrae articulating with the sternum.
Note that very rarely a bifid rib may occur as part of Gorlin-Goltz syndrome (1) or Jobs syndrome (2). It also has been reported as occurring in Kindler syndrome (3).
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