bifid rib
Last reviewed 01/2018
A bifid rib is a congenital abnormality occurring in about 1% of the population. The sternal end of the rib is cleaved into 2. It is usually unilateral.
Usually it is clinically silent but it may present as a coincidental finding on chest radiography when there appears to be 8 vertebrae articulating with the sternum.
Note that very rarely a bifid rib may occur as part of Gorlin-Goltz syndrome (1) or Jobs syndrome (2). It also has been reported as occurring in Kindler syndrome (3).
Reference:
- D.G.R. Evans, P.A. Farndon, L.D. Burnell et al., The incidence of Gorlin syndrome in 173 consecutive cases of medulloblastoma. Br J Cancer 64 (1991), pp. 959–961
- J Chinen et al. Skeletal anomalies in hyper-IgE recurrent infection syndrome (HIES, Job syndrome). Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 113, Issue 2, Supplement 1, February 2004, Page S46
- Sharma JC et al. Kindler syndrome. Int J Dermatol. 2003 Sep;42(9):727-32.