Question

How many false ribs present in Human being:
A. 6
B. 4
C. 8
D. 12

Answer 1

Arrangement between ribs placed in the thorax of most vertebrates to the vertebral column and sternum is called rib cage. It encloses the heart and lungs and preserves them. In humans, the rib cage is a bony and cartilaginous structure that covers the thoracic cavity and protects the shoulder girdle to form the central portion of the human skeleton, also known as the thoracic cage.

Complete answer:
In the human body, there are 3 types of ribs -
The true ribs constitute rib pairs 1-7, with each rib articulating later to the thoracic vertebrae and anterior to the sternum through costal cartilages. Rib pairs 8-12 are used in the false ribs. These false ribs, like the true ribs, articulate posteriorly with the thoracic vertebrae. They may not, however, attach directly to the anterior sternum and, instead, attach to the preceding (superior) rib costal cartilage, except for false ribs 11-12, which are the floating ribs.
The floating ribs (11-12) are the last two sets of false ribs, but they really do not connect to the cartilage of the previous ribs on the anterior side, unlike some of the other false ribs. Thus the total numbers of false ribs are 6 i.e. three on each side.

Hence, the correct answer is option A.

Note: Both the thoracic vertebrae and the sternum are attached to the true ribs. The false ribs are also referred to as vertebrochondral ribs by anatomists, because the false ribs attach posteriorly to the vertebrae and anteriorly to the costal cartilage. Floating ribs attach to the thoracic vertebrae and "float" without connecting anteriorly to the costal cartilage. So the anatomists simply entitle them “vertebral ribs.”