Chapter 5.4: Skeleton: Movement & Locomotion - Numerical Problems

Question 1: The human skeleton is divided into two main parts: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. a) How many bones are in the axial skeleton? b) How many bones are in the appendicular skeleton? c) What is the total number of bones in the adult human skeleton?

Answer 1: a) The axial skeleton has 80 bones. b) The appendicular skeleton has 126 bones. c) Total bones = Bones in axial skeleton + Bones in appendicular skeleton = 80 + 126 = 206 bones.

Question 2: If a person has a condition that affects the bones of their upper limbs, how many bones are potentially affected in both upper limbs combined? (Refer to the components of the appendicular skeleton).

Answer 2: The upper limbs include bones of the arm (humerus), forearm (radius, ulna), wrist (carpals), hand (metacarpals), and fingers (phalanges). Each upper limb has: 1 Humerus 1 Radius 1 Ulna 8 Carpals 5 Metacarpals 14 Phalanges Total per upper limb = 1 + 1 + 1 + 8 + 5 + 14 = 30 bones. For both upper limbs = 30 * 2 = 60 bones.

Question 3: The vertebral column is part of the axial skeleton. How many vertebrae make up the vertebral column?

Answer 3: The vertebral column is composed of 33 vertebrae.