The main elements of the bone part of the rib. The bones of the chest. Diagnosis and treatment

The question is about how many ribs does a person have, as a rule, puzzles people who have begun to study anatomy - this is a fairly simple fact.

The ribs in the human skeleton are arranged in pairs. The number of costal bones is the same for men and women.

In total, a person has 24 ribs, 12 pairs of ribs. But it is worth noting the fact that in the process of the evolutionary formation of the human skeleton, earlier, there was another pair of ribs, but in the process of the development of man and primitive society, it ceased to form and exists only in the form of rudimentary rudiments.

All twelve pairs of ribs have the same structure: in the rib there is a bone part (the longest component of the rib), costal cartilage and two tips - anterior (facing the sternum) and posterior (facing the spinal column).

The costal bone consists of a head, neck and body. The head is located at the posterior end of the rib. The body of the rib is the longest curved part that forms the angle of the rib. The neck is the narrowest and most rounded fragment of the costal structure.

The functionality of the costal bones (how many ribs a person has)

It's worth knowing:

• Ribs protect internal organs from mechanical damage. The ribs form a protective bone frame and protect the insides not only from shock loads, but also from displacement with concomitant compression;
• The ribs serve as a framework for attaching many muscles, including the diaphragm necessary for breathing and speech;
• Also, the rib frame reduces the load on the spinal column and is the site of localization of the red bone marrow - the main hematopoietic organ in the human body;
• The ribs are attached to the spinal column with the help of joints and adjoin the sternum due to synarthrosis. The thorax is covered by the pleural membrane, which acts as a lubricant for the lungs.

The integrity of the ribs and chest, or why is it worth protecting the ribs?

Speaking of ribs, it is necessary to note the risks to which a person can expose them. Due to accidents at work, leisure and in everyday life, such a pathology as a fracture of a rib or rib pair is common.

1. A fracture can cause collateral damage to internal organs, such as stab and cut wounds. Fragments of bone tissue can get into the cavities of the internal organs.
2. Elderly people are more prone to fractures of the costal processes due to mechanical damage: after all, in old age, the strength of bone tissue decreases, and the elasticity of the ribs decreases.
3. Chips of bone tissue can damage the pleura and cause pneumothorax - a serious deviation in the respiratory system caused by air entering between the pleural sheets.
4. Violation of the tightness of the lungs due to injury to the ribs can lead to hemothorax - the ingress of blood particles into the lung cavity.
5. In addition to mechanical pathologies, the ribs are subject to irreversible changes due to age or concomitant diseases.
6. In adulthood, the ribs are affected by osteoporosis. The calcium concentration in the bones drops to critical values ​​and the ribs become very fragile. With cancer, the ribs can serve as a site for the localization of the tumor.
7. If the tumor is not stopped in a timely manner, then it can affect adjacent organs. Despite the fact that the ribs are formations of bone tissue, they can be subject to inflammation due to tuberculosis or leukemia.

However, not only accidents can damage the ribs, but also crazy new trends. Modern cosmetology has recently been practicing a wild, in the understanding of the majority, way of giving the waist the desired shape and proportions.

Some women undergo an endoscopic resection of the ribs - in other words, they remove the lower pair of costal bones. Indeed, this procedure improves the appearance, but can lead to a deviation in the functioning of internal organs and become a catalyst for irreversible morphological changes in the body.

Ribs

The rib has bony and cartilaginous parts. Twelve pairs of ribs are conditionally divided into two groups: I-VII pairs - true ribs (costae verae), fused with the sternum, VIII-XII ribs - false (costae spuriae). The anterior ends of the false ribs are secured by cartilage or soft tissues. XI-XII fluctuating ribs (costae fluctuantes) with their front ends lie freely in the soft tissues of the abdominal wall. Each rib has the shape of a spiral plate. The more curvature of the rib, the more mobile the chest. The curvature of the ribs depends on gender, age. The posterior end of the rib is represented by a head (capitulum costae) with an articular platform divided by a scallop (crista costalis medialis). I, XI, XII ribs do not have a comb, since the head of the rib enters the full fossa of the corresponding vertebra. Anterior to the head of the rib begins its neck (collum costae). On the back surface near the neck of the rib is a tubercle (tuberculum costae) with an articular platform. Closer to the anterior end of the rib, 6-7 cm away from the costal tubercle, there is an angle (angulus costae), from which a groove (sulcus costae) runs along the lower edge of the rib (Fig. 43).

The first ribs have a structural feature: upper and lower surfaces, outer and inner edges.

The ribs are arranged in such a way that the upper edge is facing the chest cavity, and the outer surface is up. They have no costal grooves. On the upper surface of the ribs there is a scalene tubercle, in front of which there is a groove - the place where the subclavian vein fits, behind it - a groove for the subclavian artery.

Development. The ribs are laid along with the vertebrae. The rudiments of the ribs along the myosepts (intermuscular septa) extend to the periphery. They reach significant development in the thoracic region of the body; in other parts of the spine, the costal rudiments are rudimentary. In the cartilaginous rib in the area of ​​the angle on the 2nd month, a bone nucleus appears, which increases towards the neck and head, as well as its anterior end. In the prepubertal period, additional ossification nuclei appear in the heads and tubercles of the ribs, which synostose with the ribs by the age of 20-22.

anomalies. Additional ribs are found in the cervical and lumbar sections of the spine, which is an atavism of development (Fig. 44). Many mammals have more ribs than humans.

Rib radiographs

X-rays of the ribs make overview and sighting. On a survey radiograph in the anterior projection, even in an adult, it is possible to obtain an image of all the ribs of the chest or half of it. By the position of the heart and the aortic arch, it is easy to determine the right and left halves of the chest. In the anterior projection, the posterior ends of the ribs are clearly visible, connected by joints with the vertebrae, oriented downward and laterally. The head, neck and tubercles of the rib are superimposed on the shadow of the vertebral body and transverse processes. The edges of the ribs and their contours are even, somewhat more compact than the middle, with the exception of the posterior part of the VI-IX ribs, where the lower contour is convex and wavy. In the picture in the anterior projection, more distinct contours of the anterior ends of the ribs are visible, in the posterior projection - of the posterior ends. In a side shot, in side projection, there is usually a clear image of the ribs facing the film. In this projection, the body of the rib is better visible, the image of which is distorted in the image in the rear or front projection. The electroroentgenogram of the chest makes it possible to obtain clearer contours of the ribs.

The ribs are the main component of the chest, they are located symmetrically with respect to the spine. In a school biology course, the structure and number of these bones are analyzed in detail, but knowledge is forgotten, and adults often ask questions: how many ribs a person has, and whether their number differs in men and women.

The ribs are part of the chest

Where are the ribs?

The ribs are located in the upper part of the body and, together with the thoracic spine at the back and the sternum at the front, form, inside which the vital internal organs are located.

The chest is adjacent, first of all, to the lungs. It is this paired organ that occupies almost its entire volume. Also in the chest are the heart, thymus gland, diaphragm and the most important blood arteries.

Structure

The ribs are curved bone-cartilaginous plates, the thickness of which reaches 5 mm. The chest is made up of 12 pairs of ribs, numbered from top to bottom. How these bones look can be seen in the photo.

The bone part of the plates consists of 3 sections: head, neck and body. With the help of the head and neck, they are securely attached to the spine, creating a movable articular connection. The body of the first 7 pairs of ribs in front passes into cartilaginous tissue, with the help of which they are attached to the sternum. The cartilaginous joint is also mobile.

The first 7 pairs of bone plates are true ribs. Plates 8, 9, and 10 pairs are attached in front by a cartilaginous connection to the previous rib, they are called false. The last 2 pairs are attached only to the spine and are called free ribs.

The upper surface of the bone plates has a rounded shape, the lower surface is sharp. In the lower part of the plate along the entire length there is a groove in which the vessels and nerve fibers are located.

At birth, a person's ribs are almost entirely composed of cartilaginous tissue, the ossification of the chest frame is completed only by the age of 20.

Edge functions

Paired bones create a strong frame that performs the following functions:

1. Protection of internal organs from external danger, minimizing the possibility of mechanical damage to soft tissues.
2. Maintaining the necessary position of organs and muscles. The chest frame does not allow the organs to move relative to each other, holds the muscles and the diaphragm.

The number of ribs in a person

The skeleton of an adult man and woman does not differ in structure. Both in the male and in the female body there is the same number of ribs, namely 24. However, there are exceptions.

Initially, 29 pairs of ribs are laid in the embryo. With the growth of the fetus, only 12 pairs form the chest frame, the rest disappear during the formation of the skeleton. But with developmental disorders, an additional pair of bone plates appears, which are formed at the level of the 7th or 8th cervical vertebrae, and sometimes only 1 rudimentary rib appears at this place. Such bone processes partially fuse with 1 pair of thoracic ribs, change the anatomy of the neck and in 10% of cases cause severe harm to human health.

Skeleton structure

Usually, extra bone plates do not stick out, and it will not work to count your breast bones in order to identify additional ones. They are only found on chest X-ray. This pathology occurs in about 0.5% of the inhabitants of the planet and is usually inherent in women.

Today, operations to remove 12 pairs of bones to form a thin waist are popular. After such an operation, only 11 pairs of breast bones remain in the woman's body.

Diseases of the ribs

Pathologies associated with the bones of the chest are not uncommon, the most common of them is fractures.

Due to their curved shape, these bones are very elastic and rarely subject to fractures, but with a strong mechanical impact, injury cannot be avoided. Most often, those parts of the bone that form the sides of the chest are subjected to integrity violations. In this very curved part, damage occurs.

The most common disease of the ribs is a fracture

As a result of fractures, internal organs also suffer:

• they are not protected from external influences as before;
• after a fracture, the chest cannot fully ventilate the lungs;
• as a result of a displaced fracture, the integrity of the tissues of the lungs and the most important blood vessels can be lost.

Fractures heal differently: single cracks heal within a month, fractures with displacement heal, depending on the severity of the injury, up to 2-3 months.

Rib fractures are most common in the elderly.

Bones are also prone to such pathologies:

1. Osteoporosis. The disease affects all the bones in the body and contributes to a change not only in the internal structure of the bone plates, but also in their location. Osteoporosis contributes to a decrease in the distance between the ribs due to a change in the length of the spine. Pathologies are most often affected by women aged 50-55 years. During the period of hormonal restructuring, the bones actively lose minerals and become very fragile. It is progressive osteoporosis that often causes fractures of the bones of the chest.
2. Osteomyelitis. Purulent inflammation of the bone tissue. Costal osteomyelitis develops against the background of trauma with simultaneous infection of the tissues of the bone plates.
3. Bulging. There are times when one of the ribs sticks out more than the other, giving the chest an unhealthy look. In most cases, a bone protruding from the chest is a hereditary feature of the skeletal structure, which is not a pathology. Less commonly, a protruding bone (or several) signals rickets or curvature of the spine. Usually this phenomenon occurs in children.
4. Crayfish. Often, the ribs are affected by a tumor (osteosarcoma) or metastases from cancer of the internal organs. A symptom of an oncological lesion of bone tissue is pain when breathing, sneezing, coughing. Lesions, even at an early stage, can be diagnosed in the ultrasound room.
5. Perichondritis. This is an inflammatory disease of cartilage. It develops due to trauma to the cartilage with infection entering the tissue. Perichondritis is accompanied by pains of varying intensity during body movements and deep breathing.

Cartilage inflammation

The ribs are the most important part of the skeleton, the functioning of which depends on the safety of vital human organs. To keep your chest frame healthy and strong, exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, take vitamin supplements, do not ignore the symptoms of chest pain - consult a doctor.

Ribs, costae, 12 pairs, - narrow, curved bone plates of various lengths, symmetrically located on the sides of the thoracic region.

Ribs video

In each rib, a longer bone part of the rib, os costale, a short cartilaginous part - costal cartilage, cartilago costalis, and two ends - the anterior, facing the sternum, and the posterior, facing the spinal column, are distinguished.

The bony part of the rib has a head, neck and body. The head of the rib, caput costae, is located at its vertebral end. It has an articular surface of the head of the rib, facies articularis capitis costae. This surface on the II-X ribs is divided by the horizontally running crest of the head of the rib, crista capitis costae, into the upper, smaller, and lower, larger, parts, each of which, respectively, articulates with the costal fossae of two adjacent vertebrae.

The neck of the rib, collum costae, is the most narrowed and rounded part of the rib; it bears on the upper edge the crest of the neck of the rib, crista colli costae (I and XII ribs do not have this crest).

On the border with the body, 10 upper pairs of ribs on the neck have a small rib tubercle, tuberculum costae, on which the articular surface of the rib tubercle, facies articularis tuberculi costae, articulates with the transverse costal fossa of the corresponding vertebra.

Between the posterior surface of the neck of the rib and the anterior surface of the transverse process of the corresponding vertebra, a costal-transverse opening, foramen costotransversarium, is formed.

Rib body, corpus costae, extending from the tubercle to the sternal end of the rib, is the longest section of the bony part of the rib. At some distance from the tubercle, the body of the rib, strongly curving, forms the angle of the rib, angulus costae. At the 1st rib, it coincides with the tubercle, and on the remaining ribs, the distance between these formations increases (up to the 11th rib); the body of the XII rib does not form an angle.

Throughout the body of the rib is flattened. This makes it possible to distinguish two surfaces in it: the inner, concave, and the outer, convex, and two edges: the upper, rounded, and the lower, sharp. On the inner surface along the lower edge there is a groove of the rib, sulcus costae, where the intercostal, vein and lie. The edges of the ribs describe a spiral, so the rib is twisted around its long axis.
At the anterior sternal end of the bone part of the rib there is a fossa with a slight roughness; the costal cartilage is attached to it.

Costal cartilages, cartilagines costales (there are also 12 pairs), are a continuation of the bone parts of the ribs. From I to II ribs, they gradually lengthen and connect directly to the sternum. The upper 7 pairs of ribs are true ribs, costae verae, the lower 5 pairs of ribs are false ribs, costae spuriae, and the XI and XII ribs are oscillating ribs, costae fluitantes. Cartilages VIII, IX and X of the ribs do not fit directly to the sternum, but each of them joins the cartilage of the overlying rib. The cartilages of the XI and XII ribs (sometimes X) do not reach the sternum and, with their cartilaginous ends, lie freely in the muscles of the abdominal wall.

Some features have two first and two last pairs of edges. First rib, costa prima (I), shorter, but wider than the others, has an almost horizontal upper and lower surface (instead of the outer and inner at other ribs). On the upper surface of the rib, in the anterior section, there is a tubercle of the anterior scalene muscle, tuberculum m. scaleni anterioris. Outside and behind the tubercle lies a shallow furrow, sulcus a. subclaviae, a trace of the artery of the same name that runs here, a. subclavia), posterior to which there is a slight roughness (place of attachment, m. scalenus medius). Anteriorly and medially from the tubercle there is a weakly expressed groove of the subclavian vein, sulcus v. subclaviae. The articular surface of the head of the 1st rib is not divided by a ridge; the neck is long and thin; the costal angle coincides with the tubercle of the rib.

Second rib, costa secunda (II), has roughness on the outer surface - tuberosity of the anterior serratus muscle, tuberositas m. serrati anterioris (place of attachment of the tooth of the specified muscle).

The eleventh and twelfth ribs, costa II et costa XII, have articular surfaces of the head not separated by a ridge. On the XI rib, the angle, neck, tubercle and costal groove are weakly expressed, and on the III they are absent.