Which bone is known as the breastbone and helps protect the heart?

Which bone is known as the breastbone and helps protect the heart?

• A. Sternum
• B. Radius
• C. Clavicle
• D. Scapula

Answer: (A)

The chest’s central bone is the sternum, the breastbone. It forms the front of the rib cage and helps shield the heart (and lungs) by sitting in the center of the chest. It connects to the ribs through costal cartilage and to the collarbones at the sternoclavicular joints, which helps stabilize the upper chest. The radius is a forearm bone, the clavicle is the collarbone, and the scapula is the shoulder blade—none of these provide the protective front of the chest like the sternum.

The chest’s central bone is the sternum, the breastbone. It forms the front of the rib cage and helps shield the heart (and lungs) by sitting in the center of the chest. It connects to the ribs through costal cartilage and to the collarbones at the sternoclavicular joints, which helps stabilize the upper chest. The radius is a forearm bone, the clavicle is the collarbone, and the scapula is the shoulder blade—none of these provide the protective front of the chest like the sternum.