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Test Your Knowledge - Bones

1. What is the smallest bone in the body?

A) Patella
B) Stirrup
C) Thigh
D) Teeny Click for answer

Correct answer: B The stirrup, also known as the stapes, is a tiny bone that sits within the inner ear and, together with two other bones, transmits sound deeper within the ear. It is 3 x 2.5 mm in dimensions and without it you would be unable to hear.

2. Bones meet at:

A) Joints
B) Ligaments
C) A local restaurant
D) The rib cage Click for answer

Correct answer: A Bone meet at joints, but there are several types. Some have smooth cartage caps and are surrounded by a joint capsule and contain synovial fluid, these can click sometimes during chiropractic adjustments. Some are fibrous or synarthrodial joints where two bones are held by ligaments such as the teeth and some joints within the skull. Another main type is cartilaginous or synchondroses joints such as the intervertebral discs or the where the rib joints joint the sternum. These second two joints allow a certain amount of ‘give’ but not smooth translation of movement.

3. How many bones does an adult human have?

A) 500
B) 110
C) 206
D) 55 Click for answer

Correct answer: C 206 is mostly accepted as correct for an adult, but this depends if you count each tooth as separate and if all of the lower parts of the sacrum and coccyx have fused correctly. As people age some of the bones of the skull fuses reducing this number further.

4. The bones in your spine are called:

A) Cartilage
B) Little bones
C) Ribs
D) Vertebra Click for answer

Correct answer: D The spine this made up of vertebra each spaced by an intervertebral disc. Far from being just a building block the bones of the spine play a role in storage of minerals, have a small part in the immune system and importantly protect the spinal cord and the main spinal nerves which pass out between the bones. Importantly the spinal bones play an important part in the awareness of vibration and pressure sense which is an integral part of balance and nerve feedback to the brain.

5. The patella is located in the:

A) Knee
B) Foot
C) Ear
D) Elbow Click for answer

Correct answer: A The patella, or knee cap, is and important part of the knee. Unknown to many people there are three joints in the knee, the knee joint proper (between the femur and the tibia, a small joint slightly below the proper knee joint on the outside that joints the fibula to the tibia plateau and the sub patella joint that allows the knee cap to run smoothly over the femur and tibia in a special grove transferring the huge power of the quadriceps muscle from the upper part of the leg to below the knee.

6. What is in the centre of a bone?

A) Cream filling
B) Compact bone
C) Cancellous bone
D) Bone marrow Click for answer

Correct answer: D Bone marrow is what is in the centre of the larger long bones, however the small bones such as the bones of the spine have a honeycomb structure know as bone trabeculae. This provides a crisscross supportive structure without adding a huge amount to the weight, not unlike carbon fibre.

7. Your bones will stop growing by the time you’re:

A) 93
B) 25
C) 30
D) 13 Click for answer

Correct answer: B Your bones stop growing in length anywhere between 16 and 25 years of age. In truth though, they never really stop growing and developing to your changing role. As a boy becomes a man you can still see bone becoming denser and thicker throughout the twenties and adapts to a large extent throughout life. This is why exercise throughout life is crucial to spinal and skeletal health.

8. How many bones are in the spine?

A) 1 million
B) 65
C) 26
D) 14 Click for answer

Correct answer: C 26 bone which include 7 cervical or neck bones, 12 thoracic or mid-back bones, 5 lumbar or lower back bones, a sacrum (part of the pelvis an d has five bones fused into one) and the coccyx (made up of three fused bones).

9. The _______ bone protects your brain.

A) Tail
B) Shin
C) Back
D) Skull Click for answer

Correct answer: D The Skull protects your brain. This cranial vault protects the skull by supporting a fluid layer that the brain, and central nervous system, floats in. This fluid which extends from the sacral bulb in the pelvis all the way along the spine and around the brain is not just a fancy cushioning layer by contains nutrients and removes toxins not to mention playing an important part of the immune system to protect your nerve superhighway. The fluid, like all fluid in the body, needs to move and be pumped around the brain and spine this is achieved by good pelvic movement (chiropractic adjustment help here), breathing and the pumping of the heart. The movement of this fluid is a key check that chiropractors undertake with clients, it is really important.

10. The rib cage protects your:

A) Liver
B) Heart
C) Lungs
D) All of the above Click for answer

Correct answer: D The rib cage protects the liver, heart and lungs. What is forgotten about the rib cage is that is starts at the back of the spine starting T1 and progressing all the way down the spine to T12. Inflammation and restriction (subluxation) at the joints between the ribs and the vertebra can be very painful and can refer pain into the arm or around the chest mimicking a heart attack.

4 Join the Conversation

  1. Paddy says
    Nov 05, 2014 at 4:39 PM

    I only got one wrong. Do I at least get a star?

    • Dr Jonathan Wilson says
      Nov 05, 2014 at 9:35 PM

      You can't have a star but ask Dawn and she will give you a sticker.

  2. Karin Badt says
    Jul 09, 2021 at 7:07 AM

    I liked the test---and especially enjoyed the cream filling at the centre of the bone possibility. Can I ask what it means that bones completely change cellularly every ten years? Would the "maxilla" I have now not be the same maxilla, cell-wise, that I had at age 10? (I am at least a decade older than 10 now).

    • drwilson@inspiredchiropractic.com says
      Jul 12, 2021 at 2:35 PM

      Hi Karin, The cells in the body are constantly changing. This includes the bones. As far as cells of you maxilla are concerned, they will change over this time period. This is why your maxilla is a different size and shape to when you were 10 years of age. Cells called Osteoclasts remove old bone and Osteoblasts add new bone.

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