How many bones are in my body?

Every object surrounding us, irrespective of being living or non-living has a definite structure to itself. Without that , their existence would be incomplete.

Similarly, us human beings too need a strong frame to hold our complete structural shape, and this job is done by the bones present inside us.

Ever wondered how humans would look without these bones? Shapeless? Non-uniform?

Well, come find out.

The Skeletal System

The human body contains 206 bones in total. Apart from the total number of bones, a significant portion of them is included in and are present in our hands and feet.

The bones that make up the fundamental framework of the human body is known as the skeleton. These bones are further connected to the muscles and tendons of the body, which in turn are then connected to the nervous system of our bodies. The skeleton also acts like a protective safeguard for all the organs inside of our body, which are delicate enough to get easily harmed by any high pressure external impact.

In totality, the skeletal system, in coordination with the muscular and nervous system help the human being to move, and perform all activities pertaining to movement.

Joints

In simple words, a joint is a place where two equal parts meet and intersect.

In the human body too, there are ample places of such junctions; in particularity places where two bones meet. Such an arrangement therefore comes to be known as a joint.

Prominently enough, there are two crucial joints in our body; i.e. one in the knee and one in the elbow. In both these instances, we can see two different parts of the limbs getting joined at one point in the body through bones.

The exact place of junction, has a cushion-like padding between them, which helps the bones from not getting worn out due to repeated friction caused as a result of movement of the limbs. This padding is extremely essential, and is known as the cartilage.

Flexible Foot

Our foot is very important for our existence. It is used for almost all tasks of our life, like walking, jumping, and running. As a result, our foot has been made with bones which are flexible enough for such motion-oriented activities.

It is interesting to note that there are  26 bones in each of our feet. Each one of these help in the complete movement of the foot.

Growing Bones

Yes! You heard that right! Bones do grow in human beings. Lets understand how.

This usually happens in the child stage of a human being. During this age, especially that of a baby, the skeleton is mostly made of cartilage and not strong bones. Hence in accordance to the child’s all around growth, these cartilages grow and develop into strong bones, and by the time of being adults, this growth stops gradually.

Skull

The head is as essential as the heart. Agree?

All the activities of human body is governed and controlled by the brain. Hence such an essential organ needs special protection and safeguard at all times. The brain hence is housed inside the skull.

The human skull consists of the most hardest of bones present in the entire body. A skull is made up of  22 bones, and is so hard that it cannot be easily harmed or broken. Hence the brain is quite safe inside it, from all external damages.

Most of the bones in our are arranged in an interlocked manner and are immovable. In fact, the lower jaw is the only section that can move in the entire skull region, and that is exactly how we human are able to move our mouth in order to speak.

Ribs

While the skull protects the brain, the ribs, protects the essential organs of the heart and the lungs. These are located exactly in the chest cavity and acts like a protective cage-like structure. It is the only strong covering that the hollow space of the chest cavity has.

On an average, a human being as a total pair of 12 ribs in all.

Backbone

Very few species of living beings have developed a vertebral column in their physical body system. Us human beings too, have a vertebral column, which most importantly helps us to keep erect at all times. Also known as the backbone or spine,  it is made up of 24 bones. Each of these is known as the vertebrae.

Fun Facts

• One-sixth of our total body weight is comprised of the bones only. Bones are six times stronger than a steel bar of the
  same weight.
• The thighbone is the strongest, heaviest as well as longest bone in our body. Its length is about a quarter of our height. The thighbone is called the femur.

Related Questions:

1. What is the difference between cartilage and bone?
2. How many bones are there in the human body??
3. What is the importance of the skeleton?

Objective Questions:

• The _________ bone is the longest bone of the body.
• The rib cage protects the ______ organs of the body.
• The ______ and ______ are examples of joints in the body.
• There are _______ bones in total in our body.
• The spine has _____ number of bones.

True Or False:

1. Cartilage is hard in nature: ______
2. There are 206 bones in the body: ______
3. All bones in the skull are movable: _____
4. Bones comprise one-sixth of our total weight: ______
5. The spinal cord gives us our erect stature: _______