How many ribs do humans have?
44593#1
Ribs are classed as flat bones which usually have a protective role in the body. Humans have 24 ribs, in 12 pairs. All are attached at the back to the thoracic vertebrae, and are numbered from 1–12 according to the vertebrae they attach to. The first rib is attached to thoracic vertebra 1 (T1). At the front of the body most of the ribs are joined by costal cartilages to the sternum. The ribs connect to the vertebrae with two joints, the costovertebral joints.
Rib
57174#0
The rib cage is the arrangement of ribs attached to the vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, that encloses and protects 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 shoulder girdle to form the core part of the human skeleton. A typical human rib cage consists of 24 ribs in 12 pairs, the sternum and xiphoid process, the costal cartilages, and the 12 thoracic vertebrae.
Rib cage
6678#13
Cats have seven cervical vertebrae (as do most mammals); 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three sacral vertebrae (as do most mammals, but humans have five); and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans have only vestigial caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx). The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis. Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head.
Cat
44593#16
In birds, ribs are present as distinct bones only on the thoracic region, although small fused ribs are present on the cervical vertebrae. The thoracic ribs of birds possess a wide projection to the rear; this uncinate process is an attachment for the shoulder muscles. 
Usually dogs have 26 ribs.
Mammals usually also only have distinct ribs on the thoracic vertebra, although fixed cervical ribs are also present in monotremes. In marsupials and placental mammals, the cervical and lumbar ribs are found only as tiny remnants fused to the vertebrae, where they are referred to as transverse processes. In general, the structure and number of the true ribs in humans is similar to that in other mammals. Unlike reptiles, caudal ribs are never found in mammals.
Rib
44593#15
In most subsequent forms, many of these early ribs have been lost, and in living amphibians and reptiles, there is great variation in rib structure and number. For example, turtles have only eight pairs of ribs, which are developed into a bony or cartilaginous carapace and plastron, while snakes have numerous ribs running along the full length of their trunk. Frogs typically have no ribs, aside from a sacral pair, which form part of the pelvis.
Rib
4728560#0
A cervical rib in humans is an extra rib which arises from the seventh cervical vertebra. Sometimes known as "neck ribs", their presence is a congenital abnormality located above the normal first rib. A cervical rib is estimated to occur in 0.2% (1 in 500 people) to 0.5% of the population. People may have a cervical rib on the right, left or both sides.
Cervical rib
46521228#37
In many species, though not in mammals, the cervical vertebrae bear ribs. In many groups, such as lizards and saurischian dinosaurs, the cervical ribs are large; in birds, they are small and completely fused to the vertebrae. The transverse processes of mammals are homologous to the cervical ribs of other amniotes. In the whale the cervical vertebrae are typically fused, an adaptation trading flexibility for stability during swimming. All mammals except manatees and sloths have seven cervical vertebrae, whatever the length of the neck. This includes seemingly unlikely animals such as the giraffe, the camel, and the blue whale, for example. Birds usually have more cervical vertebrae with most having a highly flexible neck consisting of 13–25 vertebrae.
Vertebra
46521228#38
In all mammals the thoracic vertebrae are connected to ribs and their bodies differ from the other regional vertebrae due to the presence of facets. Each vertebra has a facet on each side of the vertebral body which articulates with the head of a rib. There is also a facet on each of the transverse processes which articulates with the tubercle of a rib. The number of thoracic vertebrae varies considerably across the species. Most marsupials have thirteen, but koalas only have eleven. The norm is twelve to fifteen in mammals, (twelve in the human), though there are from eighteen to twenty in the horse, tapir, rhinoceros and elephant. In certain sloths there is an extreme number of twenty-five and at the other end only nine in the cetacean.
Vertebra
1238189#2
In many species, though not in mammals, the cervical vertebrae bear ribs. In many other groups, such as lizards and saurischian dinosaurs, the cervical ribs are large; in birds, they are small and completely fused to the vertebrae. The vertebral transverse processes of mammals are homologous to the cervical ribs of other amniotes. Most mammals have 7 cervical vertebrae.
Cervical vertebrae
4345275#13
A recent suggestion, based upon observations that men and women have the same number of ribs, speculates that the bone was the baculum, a small structure found in the penis of many mammals, but not in humans.
Eve
33607453#33
Vertebrae are defined by the regions of the vertebral column that they occur in, as in humans. Cervical vertebrae are those in the neck area. With the exception of the two sloth genera ("Choloepus" and "Bradypus") and the manatee genus, ("Trichechus"), all mammals have seven cervical vertebrae. In other vertebrates, the number of cervical vertebrae can range from a single vertebra in amphibians, to as many as 25 in swans or 76 in the extinct plesiosaur "Elasmosaurus". The dorsal vertebrae range from the bottom of the neck to the top of the pelvis. Dorsal vertebrae attached to the ribs are called thoracic vertebrae, while those without ribs are called lumbar vertebrae. The sacral vertebrae are those in the pelvic region, and range from one in amphibians, to two in most birds and modern reptiles, or up to three to five in mammals. When multiple sacral vertebrae are fused into a single structure, it is called the sacrum. The synsacrum is a similar fused structure found in birds that is composed of the sacral, lumbar, and some of the thoracic and caudal vertebra, as well as the pelvic girdle. Caudal vertebrae compose the tail, and the final few can be fused into the pygostyle in birds, or into the coccygeal or tail bone in chimpanzees (and humans).
Vertebral column