Axial Skeleton:

Your axial skeleton gives support and cushioning for your brain, organs in your body, and spinal cord. Muscles within your body that move your neck, head, and trunk attach to your axial skeleton. These muscles help you to breathe and steady the parts of your appendicular skeleton.

• 80 bones make up the axial skeleton.

• The axial skeleton includes bones in your skull, ears, neck, back, and ribcage. 

Skull: Your skull has 2 sets of bones: eight cranial bones and 14 facial bones. The cranial bones make up the top and back of your skull, and support and protect your brain. The facial bones make up the face of your skull and form an entrance to your body.  

Ears: The auditory ossicles of your middle ear are the smallest bones within your body. These little bones transfer vibrations from your eardrum to your inner ear. 

Neck: The hyoid bone is a horseshoe shaped bone that sits at the front of your neck. Muscles and ligaments hold it in place between your jaw bone and thyroid. Your hyoid bone helps you be able to swallow, speak, and breathe. 

Back: The vertebral column, or spine, includes 24 vertebrae and your sacrum and your tailbone, also known as coccyx. The vertebral column extends from the base of you skull to your pelvis and it is grouped into 5 sections. 

Ribcage: the thoracic cage, also known as the rib cage, protects the heart, lungs, and many other organs. It attaches to muscles involved with breathing and arm movement.

Axial skeleton: What bones it makes up. Cleveland Clinic. (2022). Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22344-axial- skeleton#:~:text=Your%20axial%20skeleton%20is%20made%20up%20of%20the%20bones%20in,%2C%20hands%2C%20legs%20and%20feet.

Appendicular Skeleton:

The bones of the appendicular skeleton make up the rest of the skeleton, and are so called because of the appendages of the axial skeleton. The appendicular skeleton includes the bones of the shoulder girdle, the upper limbs, the pelvic girdle, and the lower limbs. 

Shoulder Girdle: The shoulder girdle consists of the scapulae and clavicles. The shoulder girdle connects the bones of the upper limb to the axial skeleton. These bones provide attachment for the muscles which move the upper limbs and shoulders. 

Upper limbs: The upper limbs include the bones of the arm, forearm, wrist, and the hand. The only bone of the arm is the humerus that articulates with the forearm bones at the elbow joint. The ulna is the larger of the two forearm bones. The wrist consists of 8 carpal bones. The hand includes 8 bones in the wrist, 5 bones which form the palm, and 14 bones that from the fingers and thumb. The wrist bones are called carpals. The bones in which form the palm of the hand are called metacarpals. The bones of the fingers are called phalanges. 

Pelvic Girdle: The pelvic girdle is a ring of bones attached to the vertebral column that connects the bones of the lower limbs to the axial skeleton. The pelvic girdle consists of the right and left hip bones. Each hip bone is flattened, large, and irregularly shaped fusion of 3 bones, known as the ischium, pubis, and the ilium. 

Lower Limbs: The lower limbs include the bones of the thigh, foot, and leg. The femur is the only bone of the thigh. The femur articulates with the 2 bones of the leg, known as the shin and smaller fibula. The leg bones and thigh articulate at the knee joint that is protected and enhanced by the patella bone that supports the quadriceps tendon. The bones of the foot consist of the tarsus bones of the ankle, metatarsal that gives the foot its arch, and the phalanges that form the toes. The ankle consists of 7 tarsal bones: talus, cuboid, navicular, the calcaneus, and 3 cuneiforms. The arches of the foot are formed by the interlocking bones and ligaments of the foot. They serve as shock absorbing structures that support the bone weight and distributes stress evenly during walking. 

Body, V. (2022). Appendicular Skeleton: Learn skeleton anatomy. Visible Body Learn Anatomy. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.visiblebody.com/learn/skeleton/appendicular- skeleton#:~:text=The%20appendicular%20skeleton%20includes%20the,girdle%2C%20and%20the%20lower%20limbs.