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          You would be like a lump of jelly without
        
        
          your skeleton – a frame of bones
        
        
          that holds you up and protects
        
        
          your internal organs.
        
        
          Bones and muscles
        
        
          
            Ribcage
          
        
        
          A ribcage has
        
        
          long, curved bones
        
        
          that protect vital
        
        
          organs such as the
        
        
          heart and lungs.
        
        
          
            Bending backbone
          
        
        
          Your backbone
        
        
          contains 24 small
        
        
          bones called
        
        
          vertebrae. They
        
        
          move almost
        
        
          every time
        
        
          you do.
        
        
          How many bones does an adult human have?
        
        
          
            Human body
          
        
        
          The
        
        
          
            wrist
          
        
        
          is
        
        
          made up of
        
        
          eight small
        
        
          bones.
        
        
          Both the
        
        
          
            knee
          
        
        
          and
        
        
          
            elbow
          
        
        
          are hinged
        
        
          joints that only move in one direction.
        
        
          The
        
        
          
            hip
          
        
        
          is a
        
        
          ball and socket
        
        
          joint, allowing the
        
        
          legs to move around.
        
        
          
            Head case
          
        
        
          The bones that make up your
        
        
          skull join after you are born.
        
        
          The skull has two parts –
        
        
          the lower jaw and cranium.
        
        
          Only your jaw can move.
        
        
          
            Brilliant bone
          
        
        
          Bones have a
        
        
          clever structure that
        
        
          makes them light but
        
        
          strong. They can heal
        
        
          themselves if broken.
        
        
          The honeycomb
        
        
          structure of some
        
        
          bone makes it
        
        
          weigh less than
        
        
          if it were solid.
        
        
          
            Skull
          
        
        
          
            Ribcage
          
        
        
          
            Backbone
          
        
        
          Snake ribcages
        
        
          can run almost
        
        
          the entire
        
        
          length of
        
        
          their bodies.
        
        
          Bone marrow
        
        
          supplies your
        
        
          body with red
        
        
          blood cells.
        
        
          The vertebrae in
        
        
          your back allow you
        
        
          to twist and bend.
        
        
          
            Cranium
          
        
        
          
            Lower jaw