Meaning & use
costal groove
A shallow channel on the inner, lower edge of a rib that houses the intercostal nerve and blood vessels.
See it in a sentence
During the dissection, the students traced the costal groove along the underside of the rib.
A needle inserted too close to the lower rib can injure the nerve running in the costal groove.
A note on using this word
This is a specialized anatomy term; clinicians use it to explain why injections between ribs are placed near the upper rib edge, away from the nerve and vessels.
Words with a similar meaning
subcostal groove
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