How Many Bones are There in the Human Body

The skeletal system is one of the important systems in the human body. Its main functions are to support the organs, anchor the muscles and protect the organs such as heart, lungs and brain. The human skeleton contains fused and individual bones that are supported by muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. The bones are distributed in two systems such as axial skeleton (trunk of the body) and appendicular skeleton (limbs). There are four types of bones such as long bones, short bones, flat bones and irregular bones. Femur is the longest bone, while stapes bone in the middle ear is the smallest bone in the human body.

At birth, the human body consists of about 350 bones. But, during the growth and maturation process, some of the bones are fused together. The adult human skeleton consists of 206 bones that vary in size and shape. A distribution of bones in different body parts is as follows:

• 28 skull bones (14 facial, 8 cranial and 6 ear bones)
• Hyoid bone of the neck (horseshoe-shaped)
• 26 vertebrae (7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, sacrum made from 5 fused vertebrae and coccyx made from 3 fused vertebrae)
• 24 ribs, sternum or breastbone, shoulder girdle (2 clavicles and 2 scapulae)
• 2 in arms (humerus), 4 in forearms (2 radius, 2 ulna)
• 54 in the hands (carpus, metacarpus and digits)
• 2 Hip bones
• 2 in thighs (femur)
• 6 in the legs (2 patella, 2 tibia and 2 fibula)
• 52 in the feet (tarsus, metatarsus and digits)

All these bones together make the skeleton and support our body and maintain its shape.