What to do if skull and Rib cage protect?
Answers
Answer:
The rib cage protects the organs in the chest, such as the heart and lungs, from damage
Explanation:
The skull protects the brain; the thorax (sternum, ribs and spine) protects the heart, lungs and other viscera (organs within the thorax).
Answer:
Rib cage, in vertebrate anatomy, basketlike skeletal structure that forms the chest, or thorax, and is made up of the ribs and their corresponding attachments to the sternum (breastbone) and the vertebral column. The rib cage surrounds the lungs and the heart, serving as an important means of bony protection for these vital organs.In total, the rib cage consists of the 12 thoracic vertebrae and the 24 ribs, in addition to the sternum. With each succeeding rib, from the first, or uppermost, the curvature of the rib cage becomes more open. The rib cage is semirigid but expansile, able to increase in size. The small joints between the ribs and the vertebrae permit a gliding motion of the ribs on the vertebrae during breathing and other activities.
human rib cage
human rib cage
Human rib cage.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Rib cage
QUICK FACTS
RELATED TOPICS
Rib
Sternum
Torso
Axial skeleton
Costal cartilage
Thoracic vertebra
The first seven ribs in the rib cage are attached to the sternum by pliable cartilages called costal cartilages; these ribs are called true ribs. Of the remaining five ribs, which are called false, the first three have their costal cartilages connected to the cartilage above them. The last two, the floating ribs, have their cartilages ending in the muscle in the abdominal wall. The configuration of the lower five ribs gives freedom for the expansion of the lower part of the rib cage and for the movements of the diaphragm, which has an extensive origin from the rib cage and the vertebral column. The motion is limited by the ligamentous attachments between ribs and vertebrae.
skeletal system, human
READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC
human skeleton: The rib cage
The rib cage, or thoracic basket, consists of the 12 thoracic (chest) vertebrae, the 24 ribs, and the...
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers, Senior Editor.
LEARN MORE in these related Britannica articles:
skeletal system, human
human skeleton: The rib cage
The rib cage, or thoracic basket, consists of the 12 thoracic (chest) vertebrae, the 24 ribs, and the...…
skeletal system, human
human skeleton
…the bony thoracic basket, or rib cage, which forms the skeleton of the wall of the chest, or thorax....…
human rib cage
rib
Rib, any of several pairs of narrow, curved strips of bone (sometimes cartilage) attached...…