Rib cage facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rib cage
The human rib cage. (Source: Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th ed. 1918.)
Projection on the rib cage of the heart, lungs and diaphragm. The shaded areas indicate the extent of the pleural cavities not filled by the lungs.
Latin	cavea thoracis

The rib cage is a special part of your skeleton. It's found in your chest area. It's made of curved bones called ribs. The rib cage acts like a shield. It protects important organs inside your body from getting hurt.

Most people have 12 pairs of ribs. This means 12 ribs on each side of their chest. Some people might have 11 or 13 pairs. Inside these bones is bone marrow.

The rib cage is also called the thoracic cavity. It helps you breathe.

What is the Rib Cage?

The rib cage is a bony structure in your chest. It's like a protective cage around your heart and lungs. It's made up of many bones.

Ribs and Their Connections

Ribs are connected in different ways. This helps them move when you breathe. All ribs connect to your spine at the back. They are numbered from 1 to 12.

• True Ribs: These ribs connect directly to the sternum (your breastbone) at the front. There are usually seven pairs of true ribs.
• False Ribs: These ribs connect to the sternum indirectly. They join with the cartilage of the seventh rib. There are usually three pairs of false ribs.
• Floating Ribs: These ribs do not connect to the sternum at all. They are only connected to your spine at the back. There are usually two pairs of floating ribs.

Why Floating Ribs are Important

Floating ribs are very important for breathing. If all your ribs were connected to the sternum, your chest couldn't expand enough. This expansion is needed to take deep breaths. The floating ribs give your chest the space it needs to move freely.

Images for kids

• 

  Numbering order of the vertebrae of the human spinal column

• 

       true / fixed ribs      false ribs     false and floating ribs

• 

  The four floating ribs indicated

• 

  A C7 rib on the right

• 

  The rib cage moves when you breathe in. This movement helps your lungs expand.

• 

  Tyrannosaurus rib cage, University of California Museum of Paleontology

• 

  First rib seen from above

• 

  Costal groove position on a central rib

• 

  Thoracic cage with spine

• 

  Front view of the sternum and rib cartilage

• 

  X-ray image of a human chest, with ribs labelled

• 

  Surface projections of the trunk, including each rib, and the costal margin

• 

  Thoracic cage with both humerii