Twelfth rib (left) (Costa duodecima)
Educational content only — not medical advice.
Anatomy
Left rib 12: The shortest and most slender rib: a floating rib lacking neck and tubercle, buried in posterior muscles and hard to palpate; it may be absent or forked as an individual variant.
Clinical notes
Twelfth-rib fracture from direct blows may be clinically silent but is checked alongside renal contusion whenever haematuria appears.
Related structures
Educational references
FAQ
What is the role of the Twelfth rib (left)?
Left rib 12: The shortest and most slender rib: a floating rib lacking neck and tubercle, buried in posterior muscles and hard to palpate; it may be absent or forked as an individual variant.
Why is the Twelfth rib (left) clinically important?
Twelfth-rib fracture from direct blows may be clinically silent but is checked alongside renal contusion whenever haematuria appears.
Source & license
Derived from Z-Anatomy (Gauthier Kervyn et al.), CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); upstream geometry from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science. license details