Bones of the Skeleton
Every muscle, nerve and joint you will learn is described relative to bones, so the skeleton is the map the rest of anatomy is drawn on. The good news is that the major bones each have a single, stable medical name — femur, humerus, scapula — and once those names are automatic, anatomical descriptions stop being a foreign language. This set drills the bones you will refer to most, from the skull down to the feet.
Practice this set for free — no account needed. Loads 16 flashcards into the learner.
Practice in the free learnerHow to study this set
Point to the bone on your own body as you recall its name — linking the word to a location on yourself makes it far stickier. Group the pairs that always come together (radius and ulna, tibia and fibula) and always name which is which so you never mix them up.
All 16 flashcards
What is the medical name for the thigh bone — the longest bone in the body?
The femur
What is the medical name for the upper arm bone?
The humerus
The forearm has two bones — what are they called?
The radius and the ulna
In the anatomical position the radius is on the thumb side and the ulna on the little-finger side.
What is the medical name for the collarbone?
The clavicle
What is the medical name for the shoulder blade?
The scapula
What is the medical name for the breastbone?
The sternum
What is the medical name for the kneecap?
The patella
What is the larger, weight-bearing bone of the lower leg (the shin bone)?
The tibia
The thinner bone beside it is the fibula.
What is the thinner bone of the lower leg, beside the tibia?
The fibula
What is the medical name for the lower, movable jawbone?
The mandible
What is the medical name for the bones of the spine?
The vertebrae
Together they form the vertebral column, or spine.
What bony structure protects the brain?
The skull (cranium)
What is the bony cage that protects the heart and lungs?
The rib cage (the ribs)
What is the bony structure that supports the lower body and connects the legs to the spine?
The pelvis
How many bones are there in the adult human body?
206
Babies are born with around 270, some of which fuse with age.
The wrist is made up of eight small bones — what are they collectively called?
The carpals (carpal bones)
What to learn next
You can now name the skeleton. Level 3 gives you the final tool: the directional terms and body planes that let you describe exactly where any bone, muscle or organ sits.
Continue to Level 3: Anatomical Terminology →