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Supernumerary rib

Case contributed by Antoni Boscà
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Abdominal pain. No other symptoms.

Patient Data

Age: 25 years
Gender: Female
x-ray

Supernumerary right lumbar rib with rudimentary appearance, or 13th rib.

Case Discussion

Lumbar ribs are a rare anatomical variant with a prevalence of ~1%.

Lumbar ribs most commonly arise from first lumbar vertebra, although it has been reported to arise from the second, and third vertebrae. In extremely rare situations, there can be sacral, coccygeal, intrathoracic, or aberrant lumbar ribs.1-2.

This are mostly an asymptomatic incidental finding, but it has been mentioned that lumbar rib can result in pain in renal angle.3

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