How many bones are there in the human skeleton?

Nathan

There are 206 bones in the human skeleton. However, we were born with 300. The difference in the number is a result of bones fusing together. Oct 20 00, 4:07 AM

--simone--

At birth a newborn baby has approximately 300 bones, whereas on average an adult human has 206 bones (these numbers can vary slightly from individual to individual). The difference comes from a number of small bones that fuse together during growth, such as the sacrum and coccyx of the vertebral column. The sacrum (the bone at the base of the spine) consists of five bones which are separate at birth but fuse together into a solid structure in later years. An infant is born with zones of cartilage, called epiphyseal plates, between segments of bone to allow further growth. Growing is usually completed between ages 13 and 18, at which time the epiphyseal plates of long bones close allowing no further growth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeleton Mar 19 08, 5:53 PM