joint: rib joints

Contents

1 Image: ventral rib joints
2 Rib joints
3 Images
4 Ribs 1 and 2 with sternocostal joints and sternochondral joints (1) (image links to linkmap)

Image: ventral rib joints

Rib joints

The ribs merge ventrally into rib cartilage and in the case of ribs 1 – 7 (costae verae, „true“ ribs) as such have a direct joint with the sternum, the sternocostal joint Art. sternocostalis. Dorsally, they insert into the costovertebral joint, two different individual joints with the vertebra:

Articulationes capitis costae
Articulationes costotransversariae

Art. capitis costae (rib head joint)

The rib head joint is a swivel joint in which the rib head rotates on the articular surface of two adjacent vertebrae of the thoracic spine in the superior and inferior costal foveae.
Two ligaments stabilize the joint alongside the capsule:

In ribs 2 to 10, the capitis costae intraarticular ligament divides the joint into two separate chambers. The 1st, 11th and 12th ribs usually articulate with only one vertebral body, which is why the joint capsule has only one chamber.

Art. costotransversariae (rib transverse process joint)

The art. costotransversarium is a sliding joint (flat joint) in which the tuberculum costae moves along the fovea costalis of the processus transversus. This joint is missing in ribs 11 and 12. The joints are secured by three ligaments:

Lig. costotransversarium superius: between collum costae and processus transversus of the nearest cranial rib.
Lateral costotransverse ligament: between the lateral part of the transverse process and the costal tubercle of the rib at the level of the same segment. It reinforces the joint capsule.
Lig. costotransversarium: between crista colli costae and processus transversus