Rib
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 removal
Barbara Mikkelson of Snopes.com suggests that Florenz Ziegfeld might have started such a rumor about his protegée Anna Held to publicize her career. Similar stories have been spread about later celebrities. Cher hired a physician in 1990 to confirm that she has a full set of ribs. It was rumored that Marilyn Manson had ribs removed to facilitate autofellatio.
Interviewed for a "Vogue" article in 2000, John E. Sherman of Weill Cornell Medical College said that while such a procedure was theoretically possible, there was no record of it in the medical literature.