Here are the must-know facts about ribs
Ribs are bony spindles in your torso attached to your sternum and these are known as the parts of the body that protect the lungs, heart, spleen, and most of the liver.
These parts of the body also help in giving shape to your chest cavity, which assists in breathing. Here are other facts about these, based on the article in Mental Floss.
They move like a bucket handle
This allows chest expansion for breathing. “They function similarly to the bucket handle on a bucket and swing upwards as we take a breath, allowing the thoracic cavity to expand,” John Martinez, MD, an urgent care provider with Dignity Health Medical Foundation in California, said.
There are three types
Ribs 1 to 7 are considered “true ribs”. It is because they connect directly from the spine to the sternum. The 8 to 10 are called “false” because they don’t connect directly. It is the cartilage that attaches them to the sternum. “Floating” is the term used to call 11 and 12 because they only connect to the spine in the back.
Humans can have a “gorilla rib” in rare instances
A human might have extra lumbar ribs, for a total of 13 pairs, much like what the gorillas have.
Two different athletes can have similar rib injury
“Rowers and baseball pitchers are the most common athletes to suffer from stress fractures of these parts of the body,” Martinez said. This injury happens when the serratus anterior muscle pulls on the delicate ribs. Athletes like golfers, dancers, weightlifters, and volleyball players can also have injuries on this part of the body.
Sneezing can result in a rib fracture
Commonly, a rib fracture can be a result of traumatic events such as accidents or intense physical activity. However, Martinez said that a rib fracture can happen because of “sneezing or coughing due to the force of the contracting chest wall muscles on the ribs.”