Costal cartilages

Study entry

Parts

They extend the ribs forward and give elasticity to the chest wall. They grow in length from the 1st to the 7th and then decrease. The 1st–7th reach the sternum directly; the 8th–10th join the one above and form the costal arch; the 11th and 12th are only bulb-shaped tips.

Joints

Sternocostal (1st–7th with the costal notches of the sternum; the 1st by synchondrosis); interchondral (8th–10th with the one above); costochondral (with the anterior end of the rib).

Clinical

They prevent many fractures of the sternum and ribs. In the elderly they lose elasticity, become brittle and can calcify (they show on radiographs).

Source: cap. 4, «Costillas, cartílagos costales y espacios intercostales» y cuadro clínico «Fracturas de costilla»

Other structures in this region

• Sternum
• Typical rib (3rd–9th)
• 1st rib
• 2nd rib
• 10th rib
• 11th and 12th ribs