Axial skeleton - wikipedia Axial skeleton This is the current revision of this page, as edited by FrescoBot ( talk contribs ) at 08 : 27, 20 August 2017 ( Bot : galleries with syntax issues and nonexistent images ). The present address ( URL ) is a permanent link to this version. Revision as of 08 : 27, 20 August 2017 by FrescoBot ( talk contribs ) ( Bot : galleries with syntax issues and nonexistent images ) ( diff ) ← Previous revision Latest revision ( diff ) Newer revision → ( diff ) Axial skeleton Diagram of the axial skeleton Details Identifiers Latin Skeleton axiale TA A02. 0.00. 009 FMA 71221 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) The axial skeleton is the part of the skeleton that consists of the bones of the head and trunk of a vertebrate. In the human skeleton, it consists of 80 bones and is composed of six parts ; the skull bones, the ossicles of the middle ear, the hyoid bone, the rib cage, sternum and the vertebral column. The axial skeleton together with the appendicular skeleton form the complete skeleton. Another definition of axial skeleton is the bones including the vertebrae, sacrum, coccyx, ribs, and sternum. Contents 1 Structure 1.1 Rib cage 1.2 Skull 1.3 Vertebral column 2 Etymology 3 Short Summary 4 Additional images 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Structure See also : List of bones of the human skeleton View from both directions of a axial skeleton cut in half. Shows attachments to pelvis and does not show skull. From Sobotta 's atlas of human anatomy 1909. Flat bones house the brain and other vital organs. This article mainly deals with the axial skeletons of humans ; however, it is important to understand the evolutionary lineage of the axial skeleton. The human axial skeleton consists of 80 different bones. It is the medial core of the body and connects the pelvis to the body, where the appendix skeleton attaches. As the skeleton grows older the bones get weaker with the exception of the skull. The skull remains strong to protect the brain from injury. Rib cage The rib cage is composed of 12 pairs of ribs plus the sternum for a total of 25 separate bones. The rib cage functions as protection for the vital organs such as the heart and lungs. The ribs are shaped like crescents, with one end flattened and the other end rounded. The rounded ends are attached at joints to the thoracic vertebrae at the back and the flattened ends come together at the sternum, in the front. The upper seven pairs of ribs attach to the sternum with costal cartilage and are known as `` true ribs. '' The 8th through 10th ribs have non-costal cartilage which connects them to the ribs above. The last two ribs are called `` floating ribs '' because they do not attach to the sternum or to other ribs and simply `` hang free. '' The length of each rib increases from number one to seven and then decreases until rib pair number 12. The first rib is the shortest, broadest, flattest, and most curved. Skull The human skull consists of the cranium and the facial bones. The cranium holds and protects the brain in a large space called the cranial vault. The cranium is formed from eight plate - shaped bones which fit together at meeting points ( joints ) called sutures. In addition there are 14 facial bones which form the lower front part of the skull. Together the 22 bones that compose the skull form additional, smaller spaces besides the cranial vault, such as the cavities for the eyes, the internal ear, the nose, and the mouth. The most important facial bones include the jaw or mandible, the upper jaw or maxilla, the zygomatic or cheek bone, and the nasal bone. Humans are born with separate plates which later fuse to allow flexibility as the skull passes through the pelvis and birth canal during birth. During development the eight separate plates of the immature bones fuse together into one single structure known as the Skull. The only bone that remains separate from the rest of the skull is the mandible. Vertebral column At birth the majority of humans have 33 separate vertebrae. However, during normal development several vertebrae fuse together, leaving a total of 24, in most cases. The confusion about whether or not there are 32 - 34 vertebrae stems from the fact that the two lowest vertebrae, the sacrum and the coccyx, are single bones made up of several smaller bones which have fused together. This is how the vertebrae are counted : 24 separate vertebrae and the sacrum, formed from 5 fused vertebrae and the coccyx, formed from 3 - 5 fused vertebrae. If you count the coccyx and sacrum each as one vertebra, then there are 26 vertebrae. If the fused vertebrae are all counted separately, then the total number of vertebrae comes to between 32 and 34. The vertebral column consists of 5 parts. The most cranial ( uppermost ) part is made up by the cervical vertebrae ( 7 ), followed by thoracic ( 12 ), lumbar ( 5 ), sacral ( 4 -- 5 ) and coccygeal vertebrae ( 3 -- 4 ). Cervical vertebrae make up the junction between the vertebral column and the cranium. Sacral and coccygeal vertebras are fused and thus often called `` sacral bone '' or `` coccygeal bone '' as unit. The sacral bone makes up the junction between the vertebral column and the pelvic bones. Etymology The word `` Axial '' is taken from the word `` axis '' and refers to the fact that the bones are located close to or along the central `` axis '' of the body. Short summary Axisl skeleton consist of 80 bones. Skull contains 22 bones from which 8 are cranial and 14 are facial. 6 middle ear ossicles ( 3 in each ear ). 1 hyoid bone in neck. 33 bones of vertebral column. 1 chest bone called sternum. 24 ribs ( 12 pairs ). Additional images Axial skeleton ( shown in red ). Illustration depicting anterior and posterior view of axial skeleton See also This article uses anatomical terminology ; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology. Appendicular skeleton Skull Middle ear ossicles Hyoid bone sternum ribs Bones References Jump up ^ Folkens, Tim D. White, Michael T. Black, Pieter A. ; Pierter, Folkens ; Michael, Black ( 2012 ). Human osteology ( 3rd ed. ). Amsterdam : Elsevier / Academic Press. p. 11. ISBN 978 - 0 - 12 - 374134 - 9. Jump up ^ `` Postcranial Skeletal / Ribs '' ( PDF ). Observation and Analysis Method for Human Bones. Retrieved 25 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Human Body Maps / Ribs ''. Healthtime. Retrieved 25 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Features of the Human Skull ''. Face and Emotion. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Skull ''. Inner Body. Retrieved 25 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Axial skeleton ''. AnatomyExpert. Retrieved 15 March 2013. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Axial skeleton. botany.uwc.ac.za Bones in the human skeleton Axial skeleton Skull Neurocranium occipital parietal frontal temporal sphenoid ethmoid Face nasal maxilla lacrimal zygomatic palatine inferior nasal conchae vomer mandible hyoid Ear ossicles malleus incus stapes Thorax sternum rib cage rib Vertebral column vertebrae cervical thoracic lumbar sacrum coccyx Appendicular Shoulder clavicle scapula Arm humerus ulna radius Hand carpals ( scaphoid, lunate bone, triquetral, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate ) metacarpals phalanges ( prox, int, dist ) Pelvis ilium ischium pubis Leg femur patella fibula tibia Foot tarsals heelbone anklebone navicular cuneiform cuboid metatarsals phalanges proximal intermediate distal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Axial_skeleton&oldid=796358404 '' Categories : Human anatomy Skeletal system Hidden categories : Medicine infobox template using GraySubject or GrayPage Talk Article Talk More Contents About Wikipedia In other projects Wikimedia Commons العربية Čeština Español فارسی 한국어 עברית Kreyòl ayisyen Latviešu Lietuvių Português සිංහල کوردی தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 20 August 2017, at 08 : 27. 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Question: based on their shape the bones of the skull can be classified as
Answer: axial skeleton