Editing Axial skeleton (section)

===Rib cage===

The rib cages are composed of 12 pairs of ribs plus the sternum for a total of 25 separate bones. The rib cage functions as protection for the vital organs such as the heart and lungs. The ribs are shaped like crescents, with one end flattened and the other end rounded. The rounded ends are attached at joints to the thoracic vertebrae at the back and the flattened ends come together at the sternum, in the front.<ref name="Postcranial Skeletal/Ribs">{{cite web|title=Postcranial Skeletal/Ribs|url=http://www.nara.accu.or.jp/elearning/2007e-learning/Observation%20and%20Analysis%20Method%20of%20Human%20Bones/Observation%20and%20Analysis%20Method%20of%20Human%20Bones%20%28page31-41%29.pdf|publisher=Observation and Analysis Method for Human Bones|access-date=25 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520054447/http://www.nara.accu.or.jp/elearning/2007e-learning/Observation%20and%20Analysis%20Method%20of%20Human%20Bones/Observation%20and%20Analysis%20Method%20of%20Human%20Bones%20(page31-41).pdf|archive-date=20 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The upper seven pairs of ribs attach to the sternum with costal cartilage and are known as "true ribs". The 8th through 10th ribs have non-costal cartilage which connects them to the ribs above, and for this they are known as "false ribs". The last two ribs are called "floating ribs" because they do not attach to the sternum or to other ribs and simply "hang free". The length of each rib increases from number one to seven and then decreases until rib pair number 12. The first rib is the shortest, broadest, flattest, and most curved.{{medical citation needed|date=July 2023}}