A cervical rib is a supernumerary rib that arises from the seventh cervical vertebra (C7).
About three-quarters are bilateral and one quarter unilateral.
It is usually asymptomatic and is an incidental finding on an imaging study..
When symptomatic the patient may have:
(1) a mass in the neck
(2) neck pain
(3) pain and/or paresthesia in an upper extremity
(4) occipital headaches
(5) thoracic outlet syndrome with compression of the subclavian blood vessels or brachial plexus
Appearance on Imaging Studies
Descriptor
rudimentary
mild
less than or equal to the transverse process of C7
moderate
longer than the transverse process of C7
severe
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Specialty: Otolaryngology
