How many ribs are there in the body?

Question

How many ribs are there in the body?

Answer 1

Humans have 24 ribs.  

The first 7 pairs are attached directly to the sternum and called "true ribs", the following 3 pairs are connected only by cartilage and called "false ribs" while the last 2 pairs are not connected to the sternum and are called "floating" or "vertebral ribs".

Answer 2

Usually it is 12 pairs (24 ribs). But 1 in 1000 people will have 25 or 26 ribs. The additional ones are present in the neck. They are called cervical ribs.

Answer 3

Humans usually have 12 pairs of ribs:

- 7 pairs of true ribs (which directly attatch to the sternum),

- 5 pairs of false ribs (which attach indirectly to the sternum via costal cartilage) and

- 2 pairs of floating ribs (which dont attach at the front anywhere)