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General structure

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The 'typical' ribs, 2-10, have all the general features described below. Occasionally, ribs 2 and 10 may show atypical features. The atypical ribs are 1, 11 and 12.

General features include:

  • head
  • neck
  • tubercle
  • angle
  • shaft
  • costal groove
  • anterior end
  • rib junctions

General trends include:

  • the tubercle to angle distance increases from superior to inferior ribs
  • the upper six ribs are tightly curved to bend 180 degrees from vertebra to sternum. The lower six ribs have a less pronounced curve that requires them, if they have costal cartilages, to extend them for relatively longer
  • ribs 1-6 and 10-12 are relatively flat whereas the group between show a more pronounced angulation between neck and shaft

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