Bones of the skeleton
The skeleton
An adult skeleton has 206 bones. For the exam you need to name and locate 19 of them, shown on the diagram below.
The arm and chest bones are named on the left, and the head, spine and leg bones on the right. Every bone is on both sides of the body except the cranium, vertebrae and sternum, which run down the middle.
Key terms
The bones by region
| Region | Bones (everyday name) |
|---|---|
| Head and trunk | (skull), (spine), , (breastbone) |
| Shoulder | (collarbone), (shoulder blade) |
| Arm and hand | (upper arm), and (forearm), (wrist), (hand), (fingers) |
| Hip and leg | (hip), (thigh), (kneecap), (shin), (outer lower leg) |
| Foot | (ankle), (foot), phalanges (toes) |
The phalanges are in both the fingers and the toes.
Key terms
Telling similar bones apart
- the radius is on the thumb side of the forearm; the is on the little-finger side and forms the point of the elbow.
- the is the thick shin bone on the inside of the lower leg; the fibula is the thinner bone on the outside. On the diagram, the tibia's line crosses the fibula to reach it.
- Hand and foot: the carpals and metacarpals are in the hand; the tarsals and metatarsals are in the foot.
Remember
come before metacarpals as you move from wrist to fingers, and before metatarsals from ankle to toes. 'Meta' means 'after'.