Eighth rib at a glance
- Also called
- Rib 8
- What it is
- The eighth rib. A typical rib and the first of the false ribs.
- Location
- Part of the thoracic cage, curving from the eighth thoracic vertebra behind around the chest wall toward the front. A false (vertebrochondral) rib.
- Function
- Protects the thoracic organs and, by moving at its vertebral joints, changes chest volume during breathing.
- Body system
- Skeletal · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA8310 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Its costal cartilage does not reach the sternum but joins the cartilage of rib 7 above it, helping form the costal margin.
- Typical rib: the head has two facets articulating with its own vertebra and the one above, and the tubercle articulates with the transverse process; the costal groove along the lower border protects the intercostal vessels and nerve.
- Serratus anterior arises from the outer surfaces of ribs 1–8 (often 9), and the diaphragm from the inner surfaces of costal cartilages 7–12.
Structures next to the eighth rib
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Ninth rib · skeletal
- Seventh rib · skeletal
- Hepatovenous segment VIII · digestive
- Superior phrenic vein · cardiovascular
- Tenth rib · skeletal
- Spleen · lymphatic
- Inferior phrenic artery · cardiovascular
- Posterior vein of ventricle · cardiovascular
- Sixth rib · skeletal
- Adrenal gland · endocrine
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Eighth rib (FMA8310). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.