Anatom3DCostal cartilages
Cartilagines costales · Žeberní chrupavky
Joints & cartilage
Looks like
Bars of springy cartilage joining the front ends of the ribs to the breastbone.
What it does
Let the chest expand with each breath and absorb blows.
Keeping it well
Nothing routine; pain and tenderness right at these joints is costochondritis, harmless and self-limiting.
Related conditions
- Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
- Costochondritis
- Gout
- Haemophilia & bleeding disorders
- Lyme disease
- Marfan syndrome & connective tissue disorders
- Osteoarthritis
- Pleural effusion
- Pneumothorax
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Rheumatic fever & rheumatic heart disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Temporomandibular joint disorder