I don’t see this as a violation of the board’s “don’t ask for a diagnosis” rule for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve had it all my life, and I’m not dead yet. Secondly, no doctor who’s ever seen it has commented on it, so it’s obviously not something major. Still, I’d like to put a name to it.
To put it briefly, my ribs aren’t even. The right-hand side of my ribcage sticks out further than the left-hand side. The bulge is right next to my sternum; beyond that, my ribs on both sides are pretty normal.
I don’t know what else to include, so I’ll let people ask questions if there’s any unclearness.
I have the same think except my left side is higher. It was a big deal when I was a skinny teenager and my friends would make fun of me. I was always worried when I went to the doctor but none ever said anything about it to me either. It straightened out some over the ways and isn’t as noticeable since I filled out.
I read a lot of medical type nonfiction and have never heard it mentioned. I am kind of glad I am not the only one.
Same here, except my family doctor actually said something about it :).
When I was a skinny teenager and I went to the doctor, he casually mentioned to me that I have “pigeon breast,” and said that it’s nothing to get worried about.
My yoga teacher says that pretty much everybody has some amount of ribcage or substernum asymmetry. (On me, it’s the right side that’s more prominent.) Don’t know what causes it. Is it handedness-related?
I think being pigeon-breasted is generally considered a different phenomenon, though; it means having a prominent sternum, not necessarily an asymmetrical one.
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It may be a result of kyphoscoliosis. From UpToDate.com:
It’s generally known as rib asymmetry. I’m not aware of a fancy latin medical term for it, but one probably exists. Googling same can provide a wealth of information. Most folks do not have perfectly symmetric rib cages, so it’s rarely a big deal.
But minor assymetry of ribs might be just that and not pigeon-breast (if the derformation is confined to the ribs of one side, then the pectus is not involved ?)
Pectus is not the breastbone (which is sternum in Latin), it’s the chest and specially the upper chest (hence “pectoral cross”, a cross worn over the chest, or pectoral as “a piece of armor covering the chest”). So, anything involving the ribcage involves the pectus.
Speaker from 7.5 years ago thanks you! Since then, I’ve actually gone through some health training and I realise that my chest is just a mild case of zombie pectus carinatum. Strangely, I’m still self-conscious about it and try not to go out without a shirt on. I should probably work on that.
Chest deformities involving abnormal protrusion of the chest are variations on pectus carinatum. They are commonly asymmetric and thought to be secondary to growth abnormality occurring at the cartilaginous intersection of the ribs and the sternum. Sometimes abnormal development will create a hollow instead of a pigeon breast–in that case it’s pectus excavatum. But the growth abnormality is probably the same regardless of which way the sternum buckles.
These conditions are occasionally significant functionally and can be corrected for functional or cosmetic reasons.