What is the basic anatomy of the skeletal system?
The cranial bone surrounds the brain. At the front is the frontal bone. At the top of the head is the parietal bones. At the back of the head is the occipital bone. Beside the ear is the temporal bone. Anterior to the temporal bone is the sphenoid bone. The final bone is the ethmoid bone, which is closer to the midline posterior to the nose and inferior to the frontal bones. The facial bones form the structure of the face. The bone that forms the bridge of the nose is the nasal bone. The maxilla is the bone that connects the nose, cheekbones, and upper teeth. On both sides forming the cheekbones are the zygomatic bones. The jaw bone is called the mandible. The mandible connects to the temporal bone at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
The spine comprises 7 cervical vertebrae in the neck, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, the sacrum, and the coccyx. The upper limb: the clavicle lies horizontally between the sternum and the shoulder at the front and upper portion of the chest. The clavicle is commonly called the collarbone. The scapula is a flat triangular-shaped bone at the back commonly called the shoulder blade. The humerus is the name of the upper arm. On the scapula is a fossae called the glenoid fossae. The head of the humerus meets the glenoid fossae to form the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder. The humerus meets the radius and ulna distally as the elbow joint. Looking a bit closer at the wrist, the radius and ulna attach to the wrist. There are 8 carpal bones in the wrist. The carpal bones connect to the metacarpals; the metacarpals connect to the phalanges. Each phalanx has a proximal, middle, and distal phalanx, while the thumb only has a proximal and distal phalanx.
Answer
At the top of the thorax is the clavicle, which connects to the sternum at the sternoclavicular joint. The top part of the sternum is the manubrium. This attaches to the sternum at the sternal angle. The very bottom part of the sternum is the xiphoid process. There are 12 ribs--one for each thoracic vertebrae. The costal cartilage is what connects the ribs to the sternum. The 11th and 12th ribs do not connect to the costal cartilage or the sternum. They are called floating ribs.
The pelvis is made of three main bones: the ilium, the pubis, and the ischium. At the base of the spine is the sacrum. This attaches to the ilium of the pelvis at the sacroiliac joint. On either side at the front of the pelvis joins at the pubic symphysis. The socket of the hip bone is known as the acetabulum. This is where all three hip bones join together at the acetabulum.
The lower limb: the longest bone in the body is the femur or thigh bone. the head of the femur connects with the acetabulum of the pelvis to form the hip joint. The femur joins with the tibia and the fibula at the lower leg to form the knee joint. The tibia is medial while the fibula is more lateral on the outer aspect of the leg. At the front of the knee, is the patella bone which is commonly called the knee cap.
At the ankle joint, the tibia and the fibula meet with the tarsal bones of the foot. There are 7 tarsal bones. Distal to the tarsal bones are the metatarsals. Distal to the metatarsals are the phalanges. Just like the hand. There are proximal, middle, and distal phalanx on digits 2-4. Digit 1 (the big toe) only has a proximal and distal phalanx.