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human skeleton
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
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Front and back views of the human skeleton are shown side by side, with labeled bones including the skull, spine, ribs, pelvis, arms, legs, hands, and feet. Insets detail the bones of the foot and hand, highlighting major bone groups and anatomical terms. Human body systems interactive Illustration of a full human skeleton with all major bones shown in beige and cartilage highlighted in blue, overlaid on a faint outline of a human body. Illustration of a human skull showing both lateral (side) and frontal views, with major bones of the cranium and face labeled in different colors, including the parietal, frontal, temporal, occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid, nasal, lacrimal, zygomatic, maxilla, mandible, vomer, and inferior nasal concha. Anatomical diagram showing the base of the human skull from an inferior view, with labeled bones and features including the maxilla, palatine, zygomatic, sphenoid, frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital bones, and major foramina and processes. Illustration of the human hyoid bone showing its body, greater horns, and lesser horns, alongside a diagram of its location in the neck above the thyroid cartilage and trachea. An anatomical illustration of the human mandible viewed from an anterolateral superior angle, showing labeled features such as the condylar and coronoid processes, submandibular and sublingual fossae, mandibular foramen, alveolar process, mental foramen, chin, ramus, and body. Diagram of the human vertebral column showing anterior, right lateral, and posterior views, with labeled cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, and coccyx. Labeled anatomical illustration of the human thorax showing the rib cage, sternum, clavicle, scapula, and associated structures such as the ribs, costal cartilage, acromion, coracoid process, and xiphoid process. cartilage
At a Glance
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human skeleton summary
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human skeleton: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Detailed description of the anatomy of the human skeleton is given in Cunningham’s Textbook of Anatomy, 12th ed. by G.J. Romanes (1981); and in Peter L. Williams and Roger Warwick (eds.), Gray’s Anatomy, 36th ed. (1980). Also useful are W.J. Hamilton (ed.), Textbook of Human Anatomy (1956), a concise and readable account of the anatomy of the skeleton of man; J.Z. Young, An Introduction to the Study of Man (1971); Kathy E. Goldberg, The Skeleton (1982), a popularly written anatomy; and J.E. Frazer, Anatomy of the Human Skeleton, 6th ed. (1965), a classic in the field of osteology.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article Contributors

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  • Warren Andrew
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Normal Bone Anatomy and Physiology. Sep 25, 2026
Add new Web site: Live Science - The Human Skeletal System. May 25, 2026
Add new Web site: The University of Hawaiʻi Pressbooks - Human Nutrition - The Skeletal System. Apr 17, 2026
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Normal Bone Anatomy and Physiology. Dec 31, 2025
Add new Web site: Cell Press - Cell - Functional genomics of human skeletal development and the patterning of height heritability. Oct 11, 2025
Add new Web site: OpenStax - Anatomy and Physiology 2e - Divisions of the Skeletal System. Aug 26, 2025
Corrected display issue. Jul 08, 2025
Add new Web site: Medscape - Skeletal System Anatomy in Adults. Jun 11, 2025
Add new Web site: PNAS - Modeling human skeletal development using human pluripotent stem cells. Apr 15, 2025
Add new Web site: DigitalCommons at URI - Expanding the evolutionary explanations for sex differences in the human skeleton (PDF). Dec 19, 2024
Add new Web site: Frontiers - Editorial: Energy metabolism within the skeleton. Oct 23, 2024
Add new Web site: Nature - Nature Communications - The bioethics of skeletal anatomy collections from India. Sep 14, 2024
Added an interactive diagram of the major systems of the human body. Dec 01, 2023
Add new Web site: BBC - Future - How modern life is transforming the human skeleton. Nov 05, 2023
Add new Web site: Cleveland Clinic - Skeletal System. Mar 27, 2023
Add new Web site: National Institutes of Health - National Cancer Institute - SEER Training Modules - Introduction to the Skeletal System. Nov 03, 2022
Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Skeletal System. Aug 17, 2022
Added an image showing fibrocartilage. Nov 19, 2020
Changed article title from "human skeletal system" to "human skeleton." Apr 03, 2019
Corrected display issue. Jan 05, 2018
Add new Web site: Idaho Public Television - Skeleton. Jan 31, 2017
Add new Web site: The Children's University of Manchester - The Skeleton. Jan 31, 2017
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Human Skeletal System. Jan 07, 2014
Add new Web site: Healthline - Skeletal System. Dec 27, 2013
Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Skeletal System. Nov 03, 2011
Added art depicting front and back views of the human skeleton. May 19, 2011
Added diagram of human skeletal system. Jan 28, 2011
Added images of hyoid bone, vertebral column, and rib cage. Feb 16, 2010
Added new Web site: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center - Skeletal System. Apr 18, 2008
Media added. Oct 16, 2007
Article added to new online database. Jul 24, 1998
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