The skeleton of the average adult is made up of about 206 bones. Each of the different parts of the skeleton is designed to do a particular job. The skull has 29 bones. It protects the brain and also the eyes and ears. The central supporting part of the skeleton is the spine or vertebral column.

The spine or backbone is made up of a chain of small bones called vertebrae. It has enormous strength. Instead of being one solid piece of bone, the backbone is made up of large number of small bones to make the body flexible and thus enable us to bend down.

The vertebrae protect the delicate spinal cord which passes through the middle. The bottom end of the tip of the spinal column is called the coccyx.

The rib cage is made up of the ribs. The arms are joined on to the central axis of the spinal column by the shoulder girdle and the legs by the pelvis. The bones of the legs are the longest and biggest in the body.