Bones

Bones are strong parts inside your body. They make up your skeleton. Your skeleton gives your body its shape. It also helps you stand, walk, and run. Without bones, you would be soft and floppy. Bones also keep your soft parts safe, like your heart and brain.

What Bones Do

Bones have big jobs. They hold your body up. They help you move when your muscles pull on them. Bones also protect the soft parts inside you. Your skull is a bone that keeps your brain safe. Your ribs are bones that keep your heart and lungs safe. Bones even make new blood inside them.

How Many Bones

A grown-up has 206 bones. But babies have more. Babies are born with about 300 bones! As kids grow up, some small bones join together to make bigger ones. The longest bone is in your leg. The smallest bone is in your ear. It is tiny, like a grain of rice.

Fun Facts

• Your bones are alive and can fix themselves when they break.
• More than half of your bones are in your hands and feet.
• Bones are stronger than steel of the same weight.

Did You Know?

The hyoid bone in your neck is the only bone in your body that does not touch any other bone.