Rib cage
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The rib cage or thoracic cage is an endoskeletal enclosure in the thorax of most vertebrates that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum, which protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, such as the heart, lungs and great vessels and support the shoulder girdle to form the core part of the axial skeleton.
The effect of the contraction of the accessory muscles of inhalation, pulling the front of the rib cage upwards, a movement known as the 'pump handle movement'. This increases the antero-posterior diameter of the thorax, contributing to the expansion in the volume of the chest. A similar effect, known as the 'bucket handle movement' causes the transverse diameter of the chest to increase, because not only do the ribs slant downwards from the back to the front, but, in the case of the lower ribs, also from the midline downwards to the sides of the chest.
Tyrannosaurus rib cage, University of California Museum of Paleontology
Thorax
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The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the creature's body, each of which is in turn composed of multiple segments.
X-ray image of the human chest showing the internal anatomy of the rib cage, lungs and heart as well as the inferior thoracic border–made up of the diaphragm.
Adolescent male chest and nipples.
Volume rendering of a high resolution computed tomography of the thorax. The anterior thoracic wall, the airways and the pulmonary vessels anterior to the root of the lung have been digitally removed in order to visualize the different levels of the pulmonary circulation.
Thorax. Anterior view.