A typical adult human skeleton consists of 206 bones. Individuals may have more or fewer bones than this owing to anatomical variations. The most common variations include additional (i.e. supernumerary) cervical ribs or lumbar vertebra. Sesamoid bone number can also vary between individuals. The figure of 206 bones is commonly repeated but must be noted to have some peculiarities in its method of counting. As noted below, the craniofacial bones are counted separately despite the synostoses which occur naturally in the skull. Some reliable sesamoid bones (e.g., pisiform) are counted, while others (e.g., hallux sesamoids) are not. The number of bones changes with age, as multiple ossific nuclei joined by synchondroses fuse into fewer mature bones, a process which typically reaches completion in the third decade of life.
Bones
Cranial (8)
- frontal bone
- parietal bone (2)
- temporal bone (2)
- occipital bone
- sphenoid bone
- ethmoid bone
facial bones (14):
- mandible
- maxilla (2)
- palatine bone (2)
- zygomatic bone (2)
- nasal bone (2)
- lacrimal bone (2)
- inferior nasal conchae (2)
- vomer
In the middle ears (6):
- malleus (2)
- incus (2)
- stapes (2)
In the throat (1):
- hyoid bone
In the shoulder girdle (4):
- scapula or shoulder blade (2)
- clavicle or collarbone (2)
In the thorax (25):
- sternum or breastbone, comprising the body of sternum (gladiolus), manubrium, and xiphoid process (1)
- ribs (2 x 12)
In the vertebral column (24):
- cervical vertebrae (7)
- thoracic vertebrae (12)
- lumbar vertebrae (5)
In the arms (2):
- Humerus (2)
In the forearms (4):
- radius (2)
- ulna (2)
In the hands excluding sesamoid bones (54):
- Carpal (wrist) bones:
- scaphoid bone (2)
- lunate bone (2)
- triquetrum bone (2)
- pisiform bone (2)
- trapezium (2)
- trapezoid bone (2)
- capitate bone (2)
- hamate bone (2)
- Metacarpus (palm) bones:
- metacarpal bones (5 × 2)
- Digits of the hands (finger bones or phalanges):
- proximal phalanges (5 × 2)
- intermediate phalanges (4 × 2)
- distal phalanges (5 × 2)
In the pelvis (4):
- sacrum
- coccyx or tailbone
- os coxae or hipbone, comprising the fused ilium, ischium, and pubis (2)
In the thighs (2):
- femur (2)
In the legs (6):
- patella (2)
- tibia (2)
- fibula (2)
In the feet excluding sesamoid bones (52):
- Tarsal (ankle) bones:
- calcaneus or heel bone (2)
- talus (2)
- navicular bone (2)
- medial cuneiform bone (2)
- intermediate cuneiform bone (2)
- lateral cuneiform bone (2)
- cuboid bone (2)
- Metatarsus bones:
- metatarsal bone (5 × 2)
- Digits of the feet (toe bones or phalanges):
- proximal phalanges (5 × 2)
- intermediate phalanges (4 x 2)
- distal phalanges (5 x 2)
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, bones, human and/or skeleton:
“Thirty—the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, thinning hair.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“We saw the machinery where murderers are now executed. Seven have been executed. The plan is better than the old one. It is quietly done. Only a few, at the most about thirty or forty, can witness [an execution]. It excites nobody outside of the list permitted to attend. I think the time for capital punishment has passed. I would abolish it. But while it lasts this is the best mode.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Critical acumen is exerted in vain to uncover the past; the past cannot be presented; we cannot know what we are not. But one veil hangs over past, present, and future, and it is the province of the historian to find out, not what was, but what is. Where a battle has been fought, you will find nothing but the bones of men and beasts; where a battle is being fought, there are hearts beating.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Man was born to live with his fellow human beings. Separate him, isolate him, his character will go bad, a thousand ridiculous affects will invade his heart, extravagant thoughts will germinate in his brain, like thorns in an uncultivated land.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Grammar is a tricky, inconsistent thing. Being the backbone of speech and writing, it should, we think, be eminently logical, make perfect sense, like the human skeleton. But, of course, the skeleton is arbitrary, too. Why twelve pairs of ribs rather than eleven or thirteen? Why thirty-two teeth? It has something to do with evolution and functionalism—but only sometimes, not always. So there are aspects of grammar that make good, logical sense, and others that do not.”
—John Simon (b. 1925)