Skeleton

The **axial skeleton** of the adult consists of 80 bones, including the skull, the vertebral column, and the thoracic cage. The skull is formed by 22 bones. Also associated with the head are an additional seven bones, including the hyoid bone and the ear ossicles (three small bones found in each middle ear). The vertebral column consists of 24 bones, each called a vertebra, plus the sacrum and coccyx. The thoracic cage includes the 12 pairs of ribs, and the sternum, the flattened bone of the anterior chest. The **appendicular skeleton** includes all bones of the upper and lower limbs, plus the bones that attach each limb to the axial skeleton. There are 126 bones in the appendicular skeleton of an adult.



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CC licensed content, Shared previously, Donna Browne, Skeletal System Module 7: Divisions of the Skeletal System, Authored by: OpenStax College. License: CC BY: Attribution.

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