7.3: Axial Skeleton and Appendicular Skeleton

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Rosanna Hartline
West Hills College Lemoore

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Axial Skeleton and Appendicular Skeleton

The bones of the human body can be divided into two broad groups, the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton comprises the bones found along the central axis traveling down the center of the body. The appendicular skeleton comprises the bones appended to the central axis.

Illustration shows the difference between the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton.

Above: The bones of the axial skeleton make up the central axis of the body including the skull, hyoid, vertebrae, ribs, sternum, sacrum, and coccyx. The bones of the appendicular skeleton include those of the appendages and the joints with those appendages including the shoulder girdle (clavicle and scapula) and the hip joint (os coxae or hip bones).

The axial skeleton consists of the bones of the skull, the bones of the inner ear (known as ossicles), the hyoid bone in the throat, and the bones of the vertebral column, including the sacrum and coccyx bones in the center of the pelvic girdle.

The appendicular skeleton is made up by the bones attached or appended to the axial skeleton. These are the bones of the limbs, hands, and feet, the bones of the pectoral (shoulder) girdles, and the coxal (hip) bones of the pelvic girdle.

Attribution

"BIOL 250 Human Anatomy Lab Manual SU 19" by Yancy Aquino, Skyline College is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0