Floating ribs are four atypical ribs (two lowermost pairs, XI-XII) in the human ribcage. They are called so because they are attached to the vertebrae only, and not to the sternum or cartilage coming off the sternum. Some people are missing one of the two pairs. Others have a third pair. Most, however, possess two pairs.
Their position can be permanently altered by a form of body modification called tightlacing, which uses a corset to compress and move the ribs.
Famous quotes containing the words floating and/or rib:
“I myself have seen the floating ships
And nothing will ever be the same
The shouts,
The harrowing voices within the house.
I stand apart with an army:
My mind is graven with ships.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“Though shoulder, bosom, lip, and knee
Are praised in every kind of art,
Here is love’s true anatomy:
His rib is gone; he’ll have her heart.”
—John Hollander (b. 1929)