The skeleton or cage that joins the thoracic vertebrae and the sternum is called the thoracic skeleton. It looks barrel shaped. It consists of 12 thoracic vertebrae, 12 pairs of vertebrae and a sternum.
1. Rib: The narrow, long, compressed and curved bone in the thoracic skeleton is called rib. Their number is 24. Each Parshuka consists of three parts. Neck, tubercle and body. Parshukas can be divided into two categories. Namely – real Rib and fake Rib.
(i) Real or True Rib: Those Ribs which have one end attached to the thoracic vertebrae and the other end to the sternum are called original Rib. The first 7 pairs of Ribs are the original Parshukas Rib.
(ii) False Rib: Rib which has one end attached to the thoracic vertebra, but the other end is not attached to the sternum is called a false Rib. 8th-12th pair of parshukas Ribs are duplicate Ribs. Among them, the 8th, 9th and 10th vertebrae join together to form the costal arch. The ends of the 11th and 12th vertebrae are free or floating. These are called floating vertebrae. Between every two vertebrae are external and internal intercostal muscles. The space between the costal cartilages is called the intercostal space.
2. Sternum: The compressed bone located in the center of the chest is called the sternum. Its length is 15-17 cm. It is a complex bone. It consists of a jugular notch, a clavicle and 7 pairs of parsicular grooves. It consists of three parts. namely manubrium, body and xiphoid process.