The false ribs are the five sets of ribs below the top seven true ribs. A rib is considered to be "false" if it has no direct attachment to the sternum, also known as the breast bone. Of these:
| Bone: False ribs | |
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| False ribs (shown in red) seen from the back. | |
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| Anterior surface of sternum and costa cartilages. (False ribs are last five ribs.) | |
| Latin | costae spuriae |
| Gray's | subject #28 123 |
The false ribs are the five sets of ribs below the top seven true ribs. A rib is considered to be "false" if it has no direct attachment to the sternum, also known as the breast bone. Of these:
- the first three (eighth, ninth, and tenth rib) have their cartilages attached to the cartilage of the rib above (vertebro-chondral):
- the last two (eleventh rib and twelfth rib) are free at their anterior extremities and are termed floating ribs or vertebral ribs because they connect neither with the sternum nor with another rib.[1] They are however attached to the backbone at their posterior extermities, like all the other ribs. These ribs are relatively small and delicate, and are capped by a cartilaginous tip.[2]
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Ninth rib[edit]
The frontal part of the ninth rib is at the same level as the first lumbar vertebra. This level is called planum transpyloricum, since the pylorus is also at this level.[3]
Tenth rib[edit]
The tenth rib attaches directly to the body of vertebra T10 instead of between vertebrae like the second through ninth ribs. Due to this direct attachment, vertebra T10 has a complete costal facet on its body. In several ethnic groups, most significantly the Japanese, the tenth rib is sometimes a floating rib, as it lacks a cartilaginous connection to the seventh rib.[2]
Additional images[edit]
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False ribs (shown in red). Animation.
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False ribs (red), seen from below.
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Red bones are true ribs, Green and blue bones are false ribs.
References[edit]
- ^ Ribs. http://www1.american.edu/adonahue/k11ribs.htm. [Web]
- ^ a b Saladin, Kenneth (2010). Anatomy and Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function. USA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. p. 485. ISBN 978-0-07-352569-3.
- ^ Bålens ytanatomi (surface anatomy). Godfried Roomans, Mats Hjortberg and Anca Dragomir. Institution for Anatomy, Uppsala. 2008.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: False ribs |
- false+ribs at eMedicine Dictionary
This article incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy.
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