—The entire skeleton in the adult consists of 200 distinct bones.
Fig. 12—The Skeleton.
| Spine— | ||||
| Cervical | 7 | |||
| Dorsal | 12 | |||
| Lumbar | 5 | |||
| Coccygeal | 1 | |||
| Sacral | 1 | |||
| 26 | 26 | |||
| Cranium | 8 | |||
| Face | 14 | |||
| Hyoid | 1 | |||
| Sternum | 1 | |||
| Ribs— | ||||
| True | 7 | Pair | ||
| False | 3 | “ | ||
| Floating | 2 | “ | ||
| 12 | “ | 24 | ||
| Upper Extremities | 64 | |||
| Lower Extremities | 62 | |||
| 200 | ||||
In the above outline the bones of the ear and the sesamoid bones are not considered. Different anatomists make different computations as to the number of bones in the skeleton. Some authorities add the bones of the ear, thus making 206 in all. If all the little sesamoid bones were added, the number could be greatly augmented.
The Vertebral or Spinal Column. (The Spine).
—The spine is a flexuous and flexible column formed of a series of bones called vertebrae. There are twenty-six in number and may be divided as follows:
| Cervical | 7 | bones |
| Dorsal | 12 | “ |
| Lumbar | 5 | “ |
| Sacral | 1 | “ |
| Coccygeal | 1 | “ |