Second rib at a glance
- Also called
- Rib 2
- What it is
- The second rib. A thinner, longer rib than the first, with a flattened upper surface.
- Location
- Part of the thoracic cage, curving from the second thoracic vertebra behind around the chest wall toward the front. A true 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
- FMA8012 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Has a rough tuberosity on its outer surface for the origin of serratus anterior.
- Its costal cartilage joins the sternum at the sternal angle, which is a landmark for counting ribs.
Structures next to the second rib
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- First posterior intercostal artery · cardiovascular
- Subclavius · muscular
- Subclavian artery · cardiovascular
- Subclavian vein · cardiovascular
- Third rib · skeletal
- Clavicle · skeletal
- First rib · skeletal
- First costal cartilage · skeletal
- Superior intercostal artery · cardiovascular
- Costocervical trunk · cardiovascular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Second rib (FMA8012). 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.