Skeletal System Anatomy

Your skeleton is like the frame of a building—it holds everything in place! The skull includes several key bones: the frontal bone (forehead), occipital bone (back of head), maxilla (upper jaw), and mandible (lower jaw). These bones protect your brain and form your face.

Moving down, your spine consists of different vertebrae groups: cervical vertebrae in your neck, thoracic vertebrae in your mid-back, and lumbar vertebrae in your lower back. The sacrum and coccyx (tailbone) form the bottom of your spine. Your chest area features the sternum (breastbone), ribs, and clavicle (collarbone), with the scapula (shoulder blade) connecting to your arms.

Your arms include the humerus (upper arm), radius and ulna (forearm), carpals (wrist), metacarpals (palm), and phalanges (fingers). Your legs feature the femur (thigh bone)—the longest bone in your body—the patella (kneecap), and the tibia and fibula (lower leg). Your feet contain tarsals (ankle), metatarsals (foot), and phalanges (toes).

Fun Fact: Your hand and foot bones follow the same pattern—carpals/tarsals, metacarpals/metatarsals, and phalanges—making them "mirror images" of each other in structure!

The pelvis protects your lower organs and connects your legs to your spine, consisting of three fused bones: the ilium (hip), ischium (sitting bone), and pubis (front). Each bone in your skeleton plays a vital role in your everyday movements, from walking to writing.