A bifid rib is a

congenital abnormality A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can r ...

of the

rib cage The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a sem ...

and associated muscles and nerves which occurs in about 1.2% of humans. Bifid ribs occur in up to 8.4% of

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between t ...

. The

sternal The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...

end of the rib is cleaved into two. It is usually

unilateral __NOTOC__ Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find disagreeable. As a word, ''un ...

. Bifid ribs are usually asymptomatic, and are often discovered incidentally by chest X-ray. Effects of this neuroskeletal anomaly can include

respiratory The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies gre ...

difficulties,

neurological Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

difficulties, limitations, and limited energy from the stress of needing to compensate for the

neurophysiological Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...

difficulties. An unstable bifid rib may lead to

slipping rib syndrome Slipping rib syndrome (SRS) is a condition in which the interchondral ligaments are weakened or disrupted and have increased laxity, causing the costal cartilage tips to subluxate (partially dislocate). This results in pain or discomfort due t ...

. Another association is with

odontogenic keratocyst An odontogenic keratocyst is a rare and benign but locally aggressive developmental cyst. It most often affects the posterior mandible and most commonly presents in the third decade of life. Odontogenic keratocysts make up around 19% of jaw cysts. ...

s of the jaw, which may behave aggressively and have a high propensity to recur when treated with simple enucleation and curettage. When seen together, the patient is likely to have

nevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome Nevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) is an inherited medical condition involving defects within multiple body systems such as the skin, nervous system, eyes, endocrine system, and bones. People with this syndrome are particularly prone to ...

(Gorlin-Goltz syndrome).

References

Congenital disorders of musculoskeletal system {{musculoskeletal-stub

See also

References