Sternum
Also called: breastbone
What it means
The sternum, or breastbone, is the flat bone in the middle of your chest that connects to your ribs through cartilage, forming the front of your rib cage.
Keeping the sternum and rib cage strong helps protect your heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, and supports good posture.
The sternum sits in the center of your chest and is made up of three parts: the manubrium at the top, the body in the middle, and a small tip at the bottom called the xiphoid process. Your ribs attach to it through flexible cartilage, allowing your chest to expand when you breathe.
As a flat bone, the sternum contains bone marrow, which plays a role in producing blood cells, much like other flat bones such as the pelvis. It's a fairly protected bone, so fractures here are less common than in the hip or wrist, but they can happen from direct trauma, like a car accident or a hard fall onto the chest.
Like all bones, the sternum responds to the body's overall bone health. Conditions that weaken bone throughout the skeleton, such as osteoporosis, can also affect the sternum, though it's rarely the main focus of bone density testing. Your doctor can explain how your overall skeletal health relates to this particular bone if it's ever a concern.
A strong sternum and rib cage protect your heart, lungs, and major blood vessels.
Where this leads
WordThe sternum connects to your ribs to form the rib cage. Curious why rib fractures are a common sign worth paying attention to in osteoporosis?
Related words
A rib is one of 12 pairs of curved, flat bones that form the rib cage, protecting the heart and lungs and attaching…
A flat bone is a thin, broad, often curved bone—like the skull, ribs, sternum, or pelvis—built from a layer of…
Bone marrow is the soft tissue inside bones where red bone marrow makes your red blood cells, white blood cells, and…
The clavicle, or collarbone, is the long bone connecting your breastbone to your shoulder blade, helping support and…
The scapula, or shoulder blade, is the flat, triangular bone on the back of your shoulder that anchors arm and…
Osteoporosis is a condition where bone breakdown outpaces bone building, causing bones to become thinner, more…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
