Anatom3DLeft fifth rib
Costa quinta sinistra · Levé páté žebro
Skeleton
Looks like
A typical rib at the level of the lower heart, running from the spine to the breastbone via cartilage.
What it does
Protects the heart and lungs and moves with breathing.
Keeping it well
The fifth rib space at the side of the chest is the safe site for chest drains; the heart's apex beat is felt just below it.
Related conditions
- Acromegaly
- Fractures
- Fragility fracture
- Frailty & falls in older age
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease)
- Osteomalacia & rickets
- Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
- Osteoporosis
- Paget's disease of bone
- Pleural effusion
- Pneumothorax
- Sarcoma
- Vitamin B1, C and other deficiencies
- Vitamin D deficiency