Random Bone Generator: All 206 Human Bones With a Fact

One press gives bones of the human skeleton, each with where it sits, what it does and whether it is one bone or a pair.

Random Bone Generator: All 206 Human Bones With a Fact

  1. Parietal bone
  2. Ulna
  3. Atlas (C1)
  4. Patella (kneecap)
  5. Femur (thigh bone)
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Random Bone Generator: All 206 Human Bones With a Fact: how it works

An adult has 206 bones, and they fit on 120 cards here, because a left and right pair shares one card. Each card says where the bone sits and what it does. The page opens on Learn these first, 26 big names from the femur to the stapes. Tap All 120 cards to add every vertebra, rib and toe bone.

Why 120 cards make 206 bones

172 of the 206 bones come as a left and a right. The other 34 lie on the midline: the breastbone, the hyoid, six skull bones and the 26 bones of the spine. That makes 86 pair cards and 34 singles. More than half of the 206 are in the hands and feet, 27 in each hand and 26 in each foot.

Read the code on a spine or rib card

C, T and L mean cervical (neck), thoracic (chest) and lumbar (lower back), numbered from the top: 7, 12 and 5. Each thoracic vertebra carries the ribs with its number. Ribs 1 to 7 are true ribs with their own cartilage to the breastbone, 8 to 10 are false ribs that join the rib above, and 11 and 12 float. Before a lab practical, set the random bone generator to one region, tap Hide all facts, draw 10 and point to each bone on a model.

Tips

  • Find the draw on yourself. The bump at the base of your neck is usually C7. The inner ankle bump is the tibia and the outer one the fibula.
  • Wrist bone names are shapes: scaphoid means boat, lunate moon, pisiform pea and hamate hooked. All 120 cards with Wrist and hand and Short draws just those eight.
  • Drawing hands: the thumb has two phalanges and each finger has three.

Questions and answers

How are the 120 cards split by region?

Skull, ears and throat: 18 cards, 29 bones. Spine: 26 and 26. Ribs and breastbone: 13 and 25. Shoulders, arms, hips and legs: 10 and 20. Wrist and hand: 27 and 54. Ankle and foot: 26 and 52.

Why do some books give a number other than 206?

Bones fuse and vary. The sacrum is five vertebrae counted as one bone, the coccyx is three to five, and the breastbone is three parts. Some people have four or six lumbar vertebrae. Small sesamoid bones inside tendons, other than the kneecap and the pisiform, vary from person to person and are left out of the 206.

Which bones are the smallest and the longest?

The stapes in the middle ear is the smallest and lightest, 2 to 3 mm long. The femur is the longest and strongest, about a quarter of a person's height, and the tibia is second.

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All 120 bones

Skull, ears and throat 18

  • Ethmoid bone Midline bone of the upper nose and inner eye socket walls. Nerves of smell pass through it. One bone.
  • Frontal bone Forms the forehead and the roof of both eye sockets. One bone.
  • Hyoid bone U-shaped bone in the front of the neck that anchors the tongue. It touches no other bone. One bone.
  • Incus (anvil) Middle one of the three tiny ear bones. It links the malleus to the stapes. A pair.
  • Inferior nasal concha Curved plate on the side wall of the nose. It swirls incoming air, which warms and moistens it. A pair.
  • Lacrimal bone Smallest, most fragile bone of the face, the size of a little fingernail, beside the tear sac. A pair.
  • Malleus (hammer) First of three tiny middle ear bones. It is fixed to the eardrum and passes sound to the incus. A pair.
  • Mandible (lower jaw) Holds the lower teeth. It is the only bone of the skull that moves. One bone.
  • Maxilla (upper jaw) Holds the upper teeth and forms the front three-quarters of the hard palate, the roof of the mouth. A pair.
  • Nasal bone Two small bones that lie side by side and form the bridge of the nose. A pair.
  • Occipital bone Back and base of the skull. The spinal cord leaves through its large hole, the foramen magnum. One bone.
  • Palatine bone L-shaped bone at the back of the nose. It forms the rear quarter of the hard palate. A pair.
  • Parietal bone Forms most of the upper side of the skull. The two meet along the top at the sagittal suture. A pair.
  • Sphenoid bone Winged bone in the skull floor. It joins almost every other skull bone and seats the pituitary. One bone.
  • Stapes (stirrup) Smallest and lightest bone in the body, 2 to 3 mm long. It passes sound into the inner ear. A pair.
  • Temporal bone Lower side of the skull, around the ear. Small hollows inside it hold the middle and inner ear. A pair.
  • Vomer Thin bone low in the wall that divides the nose. Its name is Latin for plowshare. One bone.
  • Zygomatic bone (cheekbone) Forms the cheek and much of the outer wall of the eye socket. A pair.

Spine 26

  • Atlas (C1) Ring-shaped top bone of the spine, with no body. It holds up the skull, and nodding happens on it. One bone.
  • Axis (C2) Its upright peg, the dens, is the pivot the atlas turns on when you shake your head. One bone.
  • C3 (third cervical vertebra) Neck bone level with the hyoid bone and the lower jaw. Its short spine tip is forked. One bone.
  • C4 (fourth cervical vertebra) Neck bone at the level where the common carotid artery splits in two. One bone.
  • C5 (fifth cervical vertebra) Neck bone level with the thyroid cartilage of the voice box, together with C4. One bone.
  • C6 (sixth cervical vertebra) The neck pulse can be felt against the bump on its side arm, the carotid tubercle. One bone.
  • C7 (seventh cervical vertebra) Last neck bone. Its long spine tip is usually the bump you can feel at the base of the neck. One bone.
  • Coccyx (tailbone) Three to five small vertebrae at the very end of the spine, the remnant of a tail. One bone.
  • L1 (first lumbar vertebra) The spinal cord ends at this level, which is also level with the front end of the ninth rib. One bone.
  • L2 (second lumbar vertebra) One of the five largest vertebrae. Unlike the 12 above them, lumbar vertebrae have no rib facets. One bone.
  • L3 (third lumbar vertebra) Middle lumbar vertebra. Its side arms point straight out, as in L1 and L2. Lower down they tilt up. One bone.
  • L4 (fourth lumbar vertebra) Level with the highest point of the hip bones, the iliac crest you can feel at your waist. One bone.
  • L5 (fifth lumbar vertebra) Sits on the sacrum. Its body is much deeper in front than behind. One bone.
  • Sacrum Five vertebrae that fuse in adult life into one triangular bone between the two hip bones. One bone.
  • T1 (first thoracic vertebra) Carries the whole head of the first rib. Its broad body looks like a neck vertebra's. One bone.
  • T10 (tenth thoracic vertebra) Has one whole rib facet on each side instead of two halves. One bone.
  • T11 (eleventh thoracic vertebra) Its body is close to a lumbar vertebra's in size. Its short side arms have no rib facets. One bone.
  • T12 (twelfth thoracic vertebra) Last vertebra to carry ribs. Its lower joints face outward like those of a lumbar vertebra. One bone.
  • T2 (second thoracic vertebra) Larger than T1. Half facets on each side take the heads of the second and third ribs. One bone.
  • T3 (third thoracic vertebra) Level with the middle of the ridge that crosses the shoulder blade. One bone.
  • T4 (fourth thoracic vertebra) Level with the sternal angle of the breastbone, together with T5. One bone.
  • T5 (fifth thoracic vertebra) The windpipe splits into the two main bronchi at about this level. One bone.
  • T6 (sixth thoracic vertebra) Its spine tip slopes steeply down and overlaps the one below, as they do from T5 to T8. One bone.
  • T7 (seventh thoracic vertebra) Level with the bottom corner of the shoulder blade. One bone.
  • T8 (eighth thoracic vertebra) Level with the xiphoid tip of the breastbone, together with T9. One bone.
  • T9 (ninth thoracic vertebra) May have no half facet on its lower edge, because the tenth rib usually meets T10 alone. One bone.

Ribs and breastbone 13

  • Rib 1 True rib. Usually the shortest and the most curved, broad and flat, hidden behind the collarbone. A pair.
  • Rib 10 False rib. Its cartilage joins the cartilage of rib 9, and its head usually meets T10 alone. A pair.
  • Rib 11 Floating rib. Short, with no link to the breastbone. Its cartilage tip ends in belly wall muscle. A pair.
  • Rib 12 Floating rib, much shorter than the eleventh. Its head meets vertebra T12 alone. A pair.
  • Rib 2 True rib. It meets the breastbone at the sternal angle and is the highest rib you can feel. A pair.
  • Rib 3 True rib, the first of five that join the body of the breastbone. Its head sits between T2 and T3. A pair.
  • Rib 4 True rib. Its own cartilage reaches the breastbone, and its head sits between T3 and T4. A pair.
  • Rib 5 True rib. Its head sits between T4 and T5, and a bump behind it rests on T5's side arm. A pair.
  • Rib 6 True rib. Its head sits between T5 and T6. A groove under it shelters blood vessels and a nerve. A pair.
  • Rib 7 Last true rib. Its cartilage is the lowest to reach the breastbone, and rib 8 joins onto it. A pair.
  • Rib 8 First false rib. Its cartilage joins the cartilage of rib 7 instead of the breastbone. A pair.
  • Rib 9 False rib. Its cartilage joins the cartilage of rib 8, and its head sits between T8 and T9. A pair.
  • Sternum (breastbone) Manubrium, body and xiphoid process, counted as one bone. Ribs 1 to 7 each join it by cartilage. One bone.

Shoulders, arms, hips and legs 10

  • Clavicle (collarbone) S-shaped strut from breastbone to shoulder blade, and the arm's only bony link to the trunk. A pair.
  • Femur (thigh bone) Longest and strongest bone in the body, about a quarter of a person's height. A pair.
  • Fibula Slim bone on the outer side of the lower leg. It bears no weight. Its end is the outer ankle bump. A pair.
  • Hip bone Ilium, ischium and pubis, three bones that fuse into one in the late teens. You sit on the ischium. A pair.
  • Humerus The single bone of the upper arm, running from the shoulder socket to the elbow. A pair.
  • Patella (kneecap) Largest sesamoid bone, set in the thigh muscle's tendon. Cartilage at birth, bone from about age 3. A pair.
  • Radius Forearm bone on the thumb side. Its lower end meets the wrist bones, and the ulna's does not. A pair.
  • Scapula (shoulder blade) Flat triangle on the back of the shoulder. Its shallow socket holds the top of the humerus. A pair.
  • Tibia (shinbone) Second longest bone and the weight-bearer below the knee. Its lower end is the inner ankle bump. A pair.
  • Ulna Forearm bone on the little finger side. Its hooked top, the olecranon, is the point of the elbow. A pair.

Wrist and hand 27

  • Capitate Largest wrist bone, in the center of the wrist below the middle finger. The name means having a head. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the index finger Tip bone of the index finger. Its flat end, the apical tuft, supports the fingertip pad and nail. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the little finger Tip bone of the little finger, the last of the hand's 14 phalanges. It carries the nail. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the middle finger Tip bone of the middle finger, under the nail. A flat, wide tuft at its end backs the fingertip. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the ring finger Tip bone of the ring finger. Its flat, wide end supports the fingertip pad and the nail. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the thumb Tip bone of the thumb. Its flat, wide end supports the thumb pad and the nail. A pair.
  • Hamate Wrist bone named for its hook. It meets the fourth and fifth metacarpals, below the last two fingers. A pair.
  • Lunate Moon-shaped wrist bone next to the scaphoid. The two of them meet the end of the radius. A pair.
  • Metacarpal 1 (thumb) Palm bone of the thumb. It meets the trapezium and moves on its own, apart from the other four. A pair.
  • Metacarpal 2 (index finger) The most firmly fixed palm bone. Its base meets the trapezium, trapezoid and capitate. A pair.
  • Metacarpal 3 (middle finger) Palm bone of the middle finger. Its base meets the capitate, the largest wrist bone. A pair.
  • Metacarpal 4 (ring finger) Palm bone of the ring finger. Its base meets two wrist bones, the capitate and the hamate. A pair.
  • Metacarpal 5 (little finger) Palm bone of the little finger. Its base meets the hamate, and its far end is the last knuckle. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the index finger Second of 3 bones in the index finger, which is digit 2. Middle in place and usually in size. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the little finger Second of 3 bones in the little finger, which is digit 5. It lies between the two finger joints. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the middle finger Second of 3 bones in the middle finger, which is digit 3. It lies between the two finger joints. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the ring finger Second of 3 bones in the ring finger, which is digit 4. It lies between the two finger joints. A pair.
  • Pisiform Pea-shaped wrist bone set inside a tendon, so also a sesamoid. It touches only the triquetrum. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the index finger First of 3 bones in the index finger. Its base meets the second metacarpal at the knuckle. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the little finger First of 3 bones in the little finger. Its base meets the fifth metacarpal at the knuckle. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the middle finger First of 3 bones in the middle finger. Its base meets the third metacarpal at the knuckle. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the ring finger First of 3 bones in the ring finger. Its base meets the fourth metacarpal at the knuckle. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the thumb First of the thumb's 2 bones. The thumb has no middle phalanx, so this one meets the tip bone. A pair.
  • Scaphoid Boat-shaped wrist bone on the thumb side. It meets the radius and is the wrist bone broken most. A pair.
  • Trapezium Wrist bone at the base of the thumb. The thumb's metacarpal moves freely on it. A pair.
  • Trapezoid Wrist bone below the index finger, held rigidly against the second metacarpal. A pair.
  • Triquetrum Three-cornered wrist bone on the little finger side. The pea-shaped pisiform joins onto it. A pair.

Ankle and foot 26

  • Calcaneus (heel bone) Largest bone of the foot. It forms the heel, and the Achilles tendon is anchored to it. A pair.
  • Cuboid Roughly cube-shaped bone on the outer side of the foot. It meets the fourth and fifth metatarsals. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the big toe Tip bone of the big toe. Its flat end supports the toe pad and the nail. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the fourth toe Tip bone of the fourth toe, under the nail. One of the 14 phalanges in each foot. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the little toe Tip bone of the little toe. It is often fused with the middle bone, which leaves the toe with two. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the second toe Tip bone of the second toe, under the nail. A pair.
  • Distal phalanx of the third toe Tip bone of the third toe. Its flat end supports the toe pad and the nail. A pair.
  • Intermediate cuneiform Wedge-shaped bone with its thin edge pointing down. It sits behind the second metatarsal. A pair.
  • Lateral cuneiform Wedge-shaped bone between the intermediate cuneiform and the cuboid, behind the third metatarsal. A pair.
  • Medial cuneiform Largest of the three wedge-shaped bones. It sits behind the first metatarsal, on the big toe side. A pair.
  • Metatarsal 1 (big toe) Shortest and thickest of the five long foot bones. Its head is part of the ball of the foot. A pair.
  • Metatarsal 2 (second toe) Longest metatarsal. Its base meets all three cuneiforms, and it stays fixed while you walk. A pair.
  • Metatarsal 3 (third toe) Its base meets the lateral cuneiform. Like the second, it stays fixed while you walk. A pair.
  • Metatarsal 4 (fourth toe) Its base meets two bones, the lateral cuneiform and the cuboid. A pair.
  • Metatarsal 5 (little toe) Its base meets the cuboid and flares out to the side, along the outer edge of the foot. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the fourth toe Second of 3 bones in the fourth toe, between the first bone and the tip bone. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the little toe Second of 3 bones in the little toe. It is often fused with the tip bone. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the second toe Second of 3 bones in the second toe. Toe middle bones are very short, but broader than the first. A pair.
  • Middle phalanx of the third toe Second of 3 bones in the third toe. Small and short, like every middle bone of the toes. A pair.
  • Navicular Boat-shaped bone on the inner side of the foot, between the talus and the three cuneiforms. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the big toe First of the big toe's 2 bones. Like the thumb, the big toe has no middle phalanx. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the fourth toe First of 3 bones in the fourth toe. Its base meets the head of the fourth metatarsal. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the little toe First of 3 bones in the little toe. Its base meets the head of the fifth metatarsal. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the second toe First of 3 bones in the second toe. Its base meets the head of the second metatarsal. A pair.
  • Proximal phalanx of the third toe First of 3 bones in the third toe. Its base meets the head of the third metatarsal. A pair.
  • Talus (ankle bone) Passes the whole weight of the body from the leg to the foot. No muscle attaches to it. A pair.

How this list was compiled: The list is the 206 bones of the adult human skeleton as set out at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bones_of_the_human_skeleton (80 axial and 126 appendicular; 34 unpaired bones and 86 left and right pairs), checked against the counts in OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 7.1 (https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/7-1-divisions-of-the-skeletal-system). Each left and right pair is one card, so 34 single cards plus 86 pair cards make 120 cards, and x.count adds up to 206. Facts on the cards were checked on 2026-09-18 and 2026-09-19 against OpenStax sections 7.2 The Skull, 7.3 The Vertebral Column, 7.4 The Thoracic Cage, 8.1 The Pectoral Girdle, 8.2 Bones of the Upper Limb, 8.3 The Pelvic Girdle and Pelvis and 8.4 Bones of the Lower Limb (same book, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/), and against the Wikipedia pages Cervical vertebrae, Thoracic vertebrae, Lumbar vertebrae, Sacrum, Coccyx, Rib cage, Carpal bones, Capitate bone, Metacarpal bones, Phalanx bone, Tarsus (skeleton), Calcaneus, Talus bone, Navicular bone, Cuboid bone, Cuneiform bones, Metatarsal bones, Ossicles, Stapes, Hyoid bone, Lacrimal bone, Palatine bone, Vomer, Sphenoid bone, Patella and Hip bone, each at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ plus the page name. x.type (long, short, flat, irregular, sesamoid) follows OpenStax table 6.1 (https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/6-2-bone-classification) and the Wikipedia pages Long bone, Flat bone, Irregular bone and Hip bone; the pisiform is filed as short with the other carpals, and its card says it is also a sesamoid. Small sesamoid bones other than the patella and pisiform vary from person to person and are not part of the 206. The Learn these first set (x.first) is our own choice of 26 bones, with at least one from every region. Bones that come in a numbered series are named number first (C3, T10, Rib 4, Metacarpal 2), so the printed list keeps each series together. No organs, muscles or joints are listed. Descriptions are in our own words. Licence: own work