BONES

Did You Know?

• The adult human body has 206 of them.
• There are 26 bones in the human foot.
• The human hand, including the wrist, contains 54 bones.
• The femur, or thighbone, is the longest and strongest bone of the human skeleton.
• The stapes, in the middle ear, is the smallest and lightest bone of the human skeleton.
• Arms are among the most commonly broken bones, accounting for almost half of all adults' broken bones. The collarbone is the most commonly broken bone among children.
• Bones stop growing in length during puberty. Bone density and strength will change over the course of life, however.
• The only bone in the human body not connected to another is the hyoid, a V-shaped bone located at the base of the tongue.
• Bones are made up of calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and other minerals, as well as the protein collagen.
• Bones function as the skeleton of the human body, allow body parts to move and protect organs from impact damage. They also produce red and white blood cells.