What is the distal portion of the ribs?

Question

Today I read an article about "rib subtotal removal" for plastic surgeries for "Waistline reduction". In the article, the author (Dr Barry) mentioned "Only the most outer or distal portion of the ribs are taken". Could anyone help me identified which part is the "distal portion of the ribs". Is it "the cartilage part" or the "part that connected to the backbone ?"

In rib removal surgery it is important to appreciate that only a portion of the ribs are removed. The more appropriate term would be subtotal rib removal or resection. Only the most outer or distal portion of the ribs are taken. There is no benefit to chasing the rib resection back under the semispinalis muscle near their vertebral facet attachments. Only about 5c to 7cm lengths of the rubs are removed. Thus many soft tissue attachments remain for core body support.

Source of the article: http://exploreplasticsurgery.com/understanding-rib-removal-surgery-waistline-reduction/

Answer 1

The part of the ribs that articulates with the thoracic vertebrae (in your spine) is called the proximal end and the part that articulates with the costal-cartilage / sternum (in the centre of your chest) is called the distal end. The 11^th and the 12^th pair of ribs only articulates with the thoracic vertebrae (proximal). They are called as floating ribs.

Ribs project from proximal articulating facets with thoracic vertebrae, slant forward, and depending on the rib pair under consideration, articulate at the distal end with either the sternum, hard cartilage or ‘float’ freely (Jurmain et al 2011).

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