Owing to careful collection, a large majority of the ribs from the
Munsee cemetery were preserved and are with their respective skeletons,
thus facilitating their study. Furthermore, we possess nearly all the
bones of the spines, which show the rib facets.
The ribs present are marked throughout by medium and normal
development. Fractures are very rare, there being only two (in one
subject) among the 166 ribs of the males, and but one in 196 ribs
of the females.[78] This speaks well for the peaceful life of the
community.
[78] Or 8 in 1,000. Among the whites, dissecting-room material, in a
total of 16,300 ribs examined, the author found fractures in the first
rib in the proportion of 4 in 1,000; in the second rib, 20 in 1,000;
and in the ribs below the second, 49.3 in 1,000.
The number of ribs is normal (24) in every one of the adult males;
among the females, however, there are two interesting anomalies—namely:
In female no. 285,311 there are 25 ribs, the additional one being well
developed, 6.5 cm. long, right cervical; this rib approaches in form
the ordinary first rib, while both the latter are unusually long,
being about one-third longer than any of the other female first ribs
in the series. The spinal formula in this case, curiously enough, is
only 7-12-4, the fifth lumbar being attached to the sacrum. The second
anomaly is present in female skeleton no. 285,321, with the spinal
formula of 7-11-5, and consists of the absence of the last pair of
ribs. The congenitally absent dorsal vertebra is the twelfth.
The first rib generally repays special examination, particularly as
to its shape. This shows three main types—(1) the curved; (2) the
mono-angular or pistol-shaped, with a nearly straight neck and straight
body; and (3) the biangular, in which, besides the angle between the
neck and the body, there is another distinct angle in the body itself,
so that the rib appears as if it consisted of three segments. The
relative frequency of these forms the author has reason to believe will
be found to differ in the race and sex, but as a rule it is the same on
both sides. In the Munsee the shapes found were as follows: