Rib cage
Videos
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 cavit
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
Human skeleton
Videos
The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones fuse together, not
Rib cage
…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. A typical human thoracic cage consists of 12 pairs of ribs and the adjoining costal cartilages, the sternum (along with the manubrium and xiphoid process), and the 12 thoracic…
A human skeleton on exhibit at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
During construction of the York to Scarborough Railway Bridge in 1901, workmen discovered a large stone coffin, close to the River Ouse. Inside was a skeleton, accompanied by an array of unusual and expensive objects. This chance find represents one of the most significant discoveries ever made from Roman York. Study of the skeleton has revealed that it belonged to a woman.
Image from Andreas Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica (1543), page 163.