The human rib cage, also known as the thoracic cage, is a bony and cartilaginous structure which surrounds the thoracic cavity and supports the pectoral girdle, forming a core portion of the human skeleton. A typical human rib cage consists of 24 ribs, the sternum (with Xiphoid process), costal cartilages, and the 12 thoracic vertebrae. It, along with the skin and associated fascia and muscles, makes up the thoracic wall and provides attachments for the muscles of the neck, thorax, upper abdomen, and back.
Read more about Human Rib Cage: Respiratory Function, Rib Anatomy, Medical Issues, Rib Cage Development & Testosterone, Additional Images
Famous quotes containing the words human, rib and/or cage:
“He had much industry at setting out,
Much boisterous courage, before loneliness
Had driven him crazed;
For meditations upon unknown thought
Make human intercourse grow less and less....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Man created woman—out of what? Out of a rib of his god—of his “ideal.””
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“You can cage the singer but not the song.”
—Harry Belafonte (b. 1927)