There are so many wonderful and interesting things about the human body that we know nothing about. Have you ever thought about how incredibly interesting bones are? Maybe not, but you should— your own skeleton is the home of many amazing details. If you want to learn some mind-blowing details about bones, keep reading! Here are 6 interesting facts about bones.

1. There are two types of bones.

Did you know that there is actually more than one type of bone that exists in our bodies? Well, there is. Most people are only aware of the hard bones or so-called structural bones. The well-known harder bone type is called the cortical bone, but there is another type of bone in our skeletal system as well. The soft and spongy trabecular bone is a type of bone that can be discovered inside of the large bones— your skull and ribs for example. This bone is still protective and quite hard, even if it is a lot softer than the dense cortical bone. Trabecular bones are a very important part of our skeletons along with the harder cortical bones.

2. Interesting small bones in our heads.

Most of us know that the smallest bone in our body can be found in our ear. This bone is called stapes and in shape, it resembles a horseshoe. However, our smallest facial bone: the vomer, is far less known. This small unpaired bone is located in the nasal cavity. The experts at sqadia.com/programs/vomer will teach you all about this interesting lesser-known bone that has a job in helping to support the structure of our face and nasal passages.

3. Our longest bone is not our spine.

At first, you might think that the spine would be the longest bone, but this is not the case. Our spines consist of many smaller bones that form the chain we call a spine. So, the spine isn’t just one long oddly shaped bone. The longest bone in our body is called the femur and it’s located in our thigh, in fact, it’s the only bone located in our thigh. The femur is also the strongest bone in our body and takes a great amount of force to break. This bone is also the most researched because it’s so large and usually well preserved. 

4. Babies have a lot more bones than adults.

You actually used to have more bones at the early stages of your life. Adults have 206 bones, but when you were born you had 300 bones! Well, what happened to these almost 100 bones you used to have, did they just vanish? No, these bones didn’t just magically disappear. The small bones fuse together to create larger bones and these larger bones are a part of creating the skeletal system.

5. Some people have 13 ribs.

The usual amount of ribs is 12, but in some very rare cases, a person could have 13. The extra rib is called a cervical rib and it could cause medical issues in those who are born with it. Yes, the cervical rib is an abnormality that you are born with, so you can’t develop one. They can be removed from those that do have them since a cervical rib can cause issues like neck pain, and weakness in the lower arms and hands— which of course can be very harmful and painful for the individual. This possibly problematic extra bone is truly extremely rare; only about 1% are born with a cervical rib.

6. We have a lot more bones in our hands than you might realize.

Hand, wrists, and fingers consist of way more bones than you might think— 54 bones! No wonder we can use our hands in various ways. We write, we play instruments, and we create by using our hands. This is all thanks to the many bones in our hands. The wrist alone consists of 8 bones already, which is a surprising amount if you think about it. Because these bones are so tiny, like the bones in our feet are as well—our hands and feet are the home of more than half of the bones in our bodies!

Bones are much more interesting than one might initially think. After all, they are vital to our existence and ability to function. Of course, there are many lifeforms without skeletal systems, but for us humans they are crucial. After reading these mind-blowing details about bones you know more about the wonders of bones— and maybe even have a new appreciation for your skeleton.