Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Various bones of the human skeletal system. The axial skeleton , comprising the spine, chest and head, contains 80 bones. The appendicular skeleton , comprising the arms and legs, including the shoulder and pelvic girdles, contains 126 bones, bringing the total for the entire skeleton to 206 bones.
The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones get fused together. [ 1 ]
In the human body at birth, approximately 300 bones are present. Many of these fuse together during development, leaving a total of 206 separate bones in the adult, not counting numerous small sesamoid bones. [3] [4] The largest bone in the body is the femur or thigh-bone, and the smallest is the stapes in the middle ear.
The long bone category includes the femora, tibiae, and fibulae of the legs; the humeri, radii, and ulnae of the arms; metacarpals and metatarsals of the hands and feet, the phalanges of the fingers and toes, and the clavicles or collar bones. The long bones of the human leg comprise nearly half of adult height.
Bones are commonly described with the terms head, neck, shaft, body and base. The head of a bone usually refers to the distal end of the bone. The shaft refers to the elongated sections of long bone, and the neck the segment between the head and shaft (or body). The end of the long bone opposite to the head is known as the base.
The number of bones in the human skeletal system is a controversial topic. Humans are born with over 300 bones; however, many bones fuse together between birth and maturity. As a result, an average adult skeleton consists of 206 bones. The number of bones varies according to the method used to derive the count.
On the trunk of the body, the chest is referred to as the thoracic area. The shoulder in general is the acromial, while the curve of the shoulder is the deltoid. The back as a general area is the dorsum or dorsal area, and the lower back as the lumbus or lumbar region. The shoulderblades are the scapular area and the breastbone is the sternal ...
The biggest bone in the body is the femur in the upper leg, and the smallest is the stapes bone in the middle ear. In an adult, the skeleton comprises around 13.1% of the total body weight, [22] and half of this weight is water. Fused bones include those of the pelvis and the cranium. Not all bones are interconnected directly: There are three ...