Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context skeleton English) A part of the skeleton within the thoracic area consisting of ribs, sternum and thoracic vertebrae. 2 The enclosed area created by and within the ribs.
WordNet
n. the bony enclosing wall of the chest
Wikipedia
The rib cage is an arrangement of bones in the thorax of all vertebrates except the lamprey and the frog. It is formed by the vertebral column, ribs, and sternum and encloses the heart and lungs. In humans, the rib cage, also known as the thoracic cage, is a bony and cartilaginous structure which surrounds the thoracic cavity and supports the pectoral girdle (shoulder girdle), forming a core portion of the human skeleton. A typical human rib cage consists of 24 ribs, the sternum (with xiphoid process), costal cartilages, and the 12 thoracic vertebrae. Together with the skin and associated fascia and muscles, the rib cage makes up the thoracic wall and provides attachments for the muscles of the neck, thorax, upper abdomen, and back.
Usage examples of "rib cage".
Her stomach sucked into a hollow the moment the gag was in place, and he laid a hand on her rib cage and pushed hard to counter the reflex action to vomit.
The arm swings to the front, to the same position on the right, a foot away from the rib cage (fig.
I heard the crack as my breastbone parted down the middle, thickened and broadened to accept the new angle of my expanded rib cage.
In an instant she would crush the rib cage of this mewling creature.
It seemed that the bright sunlight, magnified by the lingering moisture in the air, burned away the mists from his mind and the poisonous miasma from his blood, leaving him clear-headed, with a fragile sense of well-being but a weakness in his legs and arms and a dull ache up under the right-hand side of his rib cage where his liver was still swollen and hard as a rock, the typical after-effect of the fever.
Thomas leads with a left that misses, but follows with a right that hits Bozo high on the forehead, the punch throws his shoulder up a fraction and Bozo puts a left hook into his opponent's rib cage.
But Far's rib cage was a little high, her shoulders a little narrow: even now her body still carried with it traces of its vanishing adaptation to the trees&mdash.
Using the wedge of her fingers, she punctured the soft spot just beneath the left side of his rib cage.
She stood naturally, but the rail pressed against the small of her back, arching her rib cage.
He had the kind of odd extension of his rib cage that, in this part of the world at least, might be construed as a deformity.
She put her hand on his rib cage to push him away, but somehow her palm lingered against his thin shirt, savoring the heat of him.
The edges of her blouse parted, revealing her narrow rib cage, the soft swell of her breasts in nearly transparent lace.
She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a pale turquoise shirt that clung to her curves and emphasized her narrow rib cage and small waist.
He picked up his knife and started to cut upwards from the bottom of the rib cage.
With this weapon Pebble was capable of piercing the hide and rib cage of a baby elephant, and he had little trouble driving his heavy spear point through hominid skin, ribs, heart.