Fractured Bones in the Body Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sternum

The sternum is the long, flat bone in the middle of our chest which connects to the front part of the ribs on either side. "Sternum" is of Greek origin, a word that means chest. The sternum is broken down into three separate sections. These are the manubrium (the upper section), the body (the longer middle section), and a small bottom part called the xiphoid process.

As adults our bodies each contain 206 bones, but we are actually born with 270. As we grown and develop, these extra bones fuse with others over time.

Answer: Mandible

The mandible is our lower jaw and is commonly referred to as the jaw bone. Our bottom teeth are fixed into this bone, which is the strongest in the human face. Because the mandible changes shape over a lifetime, experts can usually determine the age of any human skeleton at the time of death.

A side-on skeletal view of a mandible looks rather amazingly like a foot. So when we sometimes put our foot in our mouth, perhaps we really are.

Answer: Scapula

Do you frequently get your clavicle and scapula bones mixed up? I do. Anatomically though, the clavicle is the uppermost of these bones, and crosses the shoulder line horizontally. It is commonly referred to as the collar bone, and is described as a kind of "strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum".

The shoulder blade is the common name given to the scapula. It's a kind of triangular shaped bone that connects the bone in the upper arm to the clavicle.

Answer: Humerus

The humerus isn't the slightest bit funny. Instead, it's the long bone that connects the scapula (shoulder blade) down to the elbow and the bones in the lower arm (the radius and ulna). The word humerus is derived from the Greek "umerus", which basically means upper arm.

At the bottom end of the humerus is the ulna nerve, which, when struck, gives us that slightly unpleasant tingling sensation. This area is often commonly and incorrectly referred to as the funny bone, and altogether, that isn't humorous either.

Answer: Radius

The radius, along with its neighbour, the ulna, is one of those two long bones in our lower arms. The radius is the outer of the two bones, and goes from the elbow down to the thumb side of the wrist. This bone has been called the radius (a Latin word meaning ray) because it appears to slightly move around the ulna, particularly when the arm is held straight out in front of one.

Answer: Trapezium

The trapezium, which has nothing to do with a circus, is a small carpal bone at the base of the thumb. This bone is important in that it helps enable the amazing movements of our thumb, as well as providing a supporting base for the hand above. The trapezium is also part of the carpal tunnel structure that connects the forearm to the palm of the hand, and is the site of the carpal tunnel syndrome, a troubling condition that is the unhappy lot of some people.

Answer: Femur

The femur, also known as the thighbone, is the long bone at the top of each leg, linking the hip joint (pelvic bone) to the knee joint (patella). It is looked upon as the strongest and longest bone in the human body. "Feed me, femur, feed me all night long". This is interesting: Creatures with four legs, such as horses, only have femurs in their powerful back legs. Even frogs have femurs. They help them to jump. This is even more interesting: Because the pelvis bone in the fairer sex is wider than that found in the male of the species, this different pressure on the femur below can sometimes make women look a little knock-kneed.

Each femur is said to comprise 26.74 per cent of a person's overall height, but rather less interesting is the knowledge that if nothing but the leg of a body is found of some unfortunate being, scientists can estimate the height of the person who once was attached to it.

Answer: Tibia

The tibia is also known as the shin bone or the shank bone. It is the large, strong bone that links the knee with the ankle, and is more than painful if accidentally kicked. This gallant bone is one of the mainstays in holding up the weight of the human body.

The fibula, also located in that section of the leg, but more laterally so, is a long thin bone that, although it doesn't carry a great deal of our weight, helps provide stability to the joints of the ankle. Interestingly, if a jawbone has to be reconstructed at any time, surgeons often borrow from the fibula.

Answer: Patella

Otherwise known as the kneecap or kneepan, the patella is a thick semi-circular bone that protects the delicate knee joint underneath. The patella of babies is initially quite soft and pliable and doesn't begin to harden up until around the age of three. Most vertebrates possess knee joints, except for creatures such as snakes and frogs and whales.

By the way, did you know that early whales once had four legs and lived on land? Fascinating, isn't it?

Answer: Phalanges

A more familiar term for our phalanges are the bones in our fingers and toes. Our thumbs and big toes have two phalanges each, and the rest of our digits have three each. The human body contains fifty-six of these phalanges. The singular form of phalanges is phalanx.