Author: Molly Smith, DipCNM, mBANT•Reviewer: Dimitrios Mytilinaios, MD, PhD
Last reviewed: October 30, 2023
Reading time: 5 minutes
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Recommended video: Learn the bones of the body with skeletal system quizzes [09:25]
Tips to learn the bones of the skeletal system using worksheets and quizzes.
How many bones are in the human body? When asking this question of muscles, no one can quite agree on the answer. Luckily, bones are a little more reliable. Sturdy, if you like. There are a total of 206 bones in the body, ranging from teeny tiny (think the stapes) to very large indeed (think the femur, the largest bone in the body).
How can you go about learning all 206 of them? We’re glad you asked. In this article, we’ll be sharing our favorite, tried and tested learning tools. We’ll also teach you some common ways to classify the human bones. Ready? Let’s jump in!
Contents
- How to learn the human bones
- Shape
- Location
- Free Labeling Diagrams
- Interactive Quizzes
- You can find more integrated quizzes in this little example selection of learning materials about the skeletal system.
- Sources
+ Show all
How to learn the human bones
There are several ways to classify the bones in the body. Two of the most obvious are their shape (type) and location. Let’s take a look at these quickly.
Shape
One way to learn all the bones in the human body is to categorize them by shape. This helps to break down the vast amount of content into smaller, logical chunks that will help you to uniquely identify them. There are five types of human bones:
- Flat
- Long
- Short
- Sesamoid
- Irregular
You can read about them in detail on this comprehensive article about bones.
Want a speedy way to learn the bones of the body? Our online anatomy courses and classes are the best place to start.
Location
Another way to classify bones is by which of the two skeletons of the body they belong to - axial, or appendicular.
The axial skeleton forms the main frame of the body - the bones of the head and the trunk. In total, the bones of the axial skeleton include:
- Skull bones (frontal, occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid, 2 parietal, 2 temporal)
- Auditory ossicles (2 malleus, 2 incus, 2 stapes)
- Facial bones (2 maxilla, 2 zygomatic, mandible, 2 nasal, 2 palatine, 2 inferior nasal concha, 2 lacrimal, vomer)
- Hyoid bone
- Vertebral column (7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, coccyx)
- Thoracic cage (Sternum, 24 ribs)
The appendicular skeleton bones are essentially the appendages that hang, or “append”, from the axial skeleton. Parts of the appendicular skeleton include:
- Pectoral girdles (2 clavicles, 2 scapulae)
- Upper extremity (2 humerus, 2 radius, 2 ulnae, 16 carpals, 10 metacarpals, 28 phalanges)
- Pelvic girdle (2 hip bones)
- Lower extremity (2 femora, 2 fibulae, 2 tibiae, 2 patellae, 14 tarsals, 10 metatarsals, 28 phalanges)
Continue learning the finer details of bones with our expert created video tutorials.
Free Labeling Diagrams
Now that you know a little bit more about the types and locations of bones, why not test your memory with a bone labeling exercise? Above, you can see a labeled diagram showing the main bones of the body. Below, you can find an unlabeled diagram ready for you to fill in yourself.
Download PDF Worksheet (blank) Download PDF Worksheet (labeled)
Interactive Quizzes
Hopefully, you’re now feeling confident about the main bones of the body and indeed how many bones there are in the human body. So it’s time to take things to the next level. Yes - we’re talking about bone quizzes. These are the best way to identify any gaps in your knowledge to be revised later.
Alternatively, you can use our bone quizzes to learn about the bones of the body from scratch. After answering a few questions, our clever algorithm will learn where your weak spots lie and give you more questions on those topics accordingly. Clever, huh?
We recommend starting out with the basic identification bone quizzes. Once that starts to feel too easy, you can challenge yourself with the advanced identification quizzes. And if you’re feeling really confident? You can move on to our clinical question banks!
Check out some of our top picks below. Once you select your quiz topic, you’ll be able to choose which type of quiz (basic identification, advanced identification, clinical question bank or intelligent mix - a combination of all quiz types) you’d like to take. Good luck!
You can find more integrated quizzes in this little example selection of learning materials about the skeletal system.
Bones of the skull Explore study unit
Humerus and scapula Explore study unit
Love this approach to studying? Check out our full guide tolearning with human anatomy diagramsand quizzes.
Sources
Author: Molly Smith
Layout: Niels Hapke
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