Editing Skeleton (section)

====Humans====
{{Main article|Human skeleton}}
[[File:Leonardo Skeleton 1511.jpg|thumb|''Study of Skeletons'', {{Circa|1510}}, by [[Leonardo da Vinci]]]]

The skeleton consists of both fused and individual bones supported and supplemented by ligaments, tendons, [[muscle]]s and cartilage. It serves as a scaffold which supports organs, anchors muscles, and protects organs such as the brain, [[human lung|lungs]], [[human heart|heart]] and [[spinal cord]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Skeletal System: Facts, Function & Diseases |work=Live Science |url=http://www.livescience.com/22537-skeletal-system.html |url-status=live |access-date=7 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307123921/http://www.livescience.com/22537-skeletal-system.html |archive-date=7 March 2017}}</ref> The biggest bone in the body is the [[femur]] in the upper leg, and the smallest is the [[stapes]] bone in the [[middle ear]]. In an adult, the skeleton comprises around 13.1% of the total body weight,<ref>{{Harvnb|Reynolds|Karlotski|1977|page=161}}</ref> and half of this weight is water.

Fused bones include those of the [[Human pelvis|pelvis]] and the [[Human skull|cranium]]. Not all bones are interconnected directly: There are three bones in each [[middle ear]] called the [[ossicles]] that articulate only with each other. The [[hyoid bone]], which is located in the neck and serves as the point of attachment for the [[tongue]], does not articulate with any other bones in the body, being supported by muscles and ligaments.

There are 206 bones in the adult human skeleton, although this number depends on whether the pelvic bones (the [[hip bone]]s on each side) are counted as one or three bones on each side (ilium, ischium, and pubis), whether the coccyx or tail bone is counted as one or four separate bones, and does not count the variable [[wormian bone]]s between skull sutures. Similarly, the sacrum is usually counted as a single bone, rather than five fused vertebrae. There is also a variable number of small sesamoid bones, commonly found in tendons. The patella or kneecap on each side is an example of a larger sesamoid bone. The patellae are counted in the total, as they are constant. The number of bones varies between individuals and with age – newborn babies have over 270 bones some of which fuse together.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} These bones are organized into a longitudinal axis, the [[axial skeleton]], to which the [[appendicular skeleton]] is attached.<ref name="tozeren6-10">{{Harvnb|Tözeren|2000|pages=6–10}}.</ref>

The human skeleton takes 20 years before it is fully developed, and the bones contain [[Bone marrow|marrow]], which produces blood cells.

There exist several general differences between the male and female skeletons. The male skeleton, for example, is generally larger and heavier than the female skeleton. In the female skeleton, the bones of the skull are generally less angular. The female skeleton also has wider and shorter breastbone and slimmer wrists. There exist significant differences between the male and female pelvis which are related to the female's pregnancy and childbirth capabilities. The female pelvis is wider and shallower than the male pelvis. Female pelvises also have an enlarged pelvic outlet and a wider and more circular pelvic inlet. The angle between the pubic bones is known to be sharper in males, which results in a more circular, narrower, and near heart-shaped pelvis.<ref name="Balaban-61">{{Harvnb|Balaban|2008|page=61}}</ref><ref name="stein73">{{Harvnb|Stein|2007|page=73}}.</ref>