|
Dear Clueless:
Nope. Boys and girls, men and women, all have the same number of ribs - 12 sets. You have seven
large sets which are attached by cartilage to the sternum - the hard bone that runs down the center
of your rib cage. These are called "true ribs."
You also have five smaller sets which are not attached. These are ribs even though they are
referred to as "false ribs."
FYI - the sternum is one of the last places in the body to harden into bone. It's cartilage
before you're born and can take one or two decades before its completely hardened bone!
Oh, and one more thing, Clueless. Tell your friend that she's not alone in her rib confusion.
As you may know, there is a story in the Bible about how Adam was created. Some people have
mistakenly concluded from that story that women have one fewer set of ribs than men. But there's no
mistaking it, an equal number of ribs is one of the many ways in which boys and girls are alike!
Signed,
Wendell
|
