Rib cage
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.
Thorax
It consists of the ribs and sternum.The ribs of the thorax are numbered in ascending order from 1-12. 11 & 12 are known as floating ribs because they have no anterior attachment point in particular the cartilage attached to the sternum, as 1-7 are, and therefore are termed "floating". Whereas ribs 8-10 are termed false ribs as their costal cartilage articulates with the costal cartilage of the rib above.