Anatomy Classification of Bones

Flat Bones

made up of a layer of spongy bone between two thin layers of compact bone. They have a flat shape, not rounded.

Sutural Bones

formed from additional and separate centres of ossification of the cranium, located near or in the cranial sutures that lead to extra isolated bone segments in the cranium. They are small accessory bones that tend to vary in size and be irregular in shape.

Long Bones

has a shaft and two ends, it is about this structure not the size of the bone

Irregular Bones

A type of with an unusual structure that doesn't fit into another structure

Sesamoid Bones

a small bone commonly found embedded within a muscle or tendon near joint surfaces

Short Bones

Cube-like: length, width, and height are all about the same

Tuberosity

A moderate prominence where muscles and connective tissues attach. Example: tibial, deltoid, and ischial tuberosities.

Crest

A moderate prominence where muscles and connective tissues attach. Example: tibial, deltoid, and ischial tuberosities.

Trochanter

A large prominence on one side of a bone, some of the largest muscle groups and most dense connective tissues attach to the trochanter. Example: the femur's greater and lesser trochanters.

Linea (Line)

A subtle, long, and narrow impression which distinguishes itself in elevation, color or texture from surrounding tissues. Example: the linea aspera of femur

Sulcus

A furrow or fissure usually specific to the surface of the brain, but also in bones

Tubercle

A small, rounded prominence where connective tissues attach. Example: the greater and lesser humeral tubercles.

Epicondyle

A prominence superior to a condyle, it provides muscle and connective tissue attachment sites. Example: the femoral and humeral medial and lateral epicondyles.

Spine (spinous process)

A sharp, slender projection of the bone which is useful for attachment of muscles or ligaments. Example: spine of sphenoid bone.

Process

a bulging bony outgrowth of a larger bone. Example: the mastoid process

Head

A rounded, prominent, bony extension that forms part of a joint. The head is separated from the bone shaft by the neck, it is usually covered in hyaline cartilage and a synovial capsule. Comprises a bone's main articulating surface in ball-and-socket joints. Example: is the femoral head in the hip joint.

Facet

A facet is a smooth, flat surface that forms a gliding joint with another flat bone or facet. Example: vertebrae's facet joints, allowing for spinal flexion and extension

Condyle

A large prominence that provides structural support to the overlying hyaline cartilage they bear the brunt of the force exerted by a muscle about a joint. Example: e the knee, a hinge joint uniting the femoral latera

Ramus

The curved part of a bone that gives structural support to the rest of the bone. Example: the superior and inferior pubic and mandibular rami.

Trochlea

pulley-like structure. Example: what connects the humerus to the ulna

Meatus/Canal

A tube-like channel that extends within the bone, which may provide passage and protection to nerves and vessels. The external and internal acoustic meatus accommodate sound transmission

Sinus

A hollow cavity housing air, fluid, or blood. Example: paranasal and dural venous sinuses

Fossa

A shallow depression on the bone surface, which may receive an articulating bone or act to support soft tissue structures. Example: the trochlear and the posterior, middle, and anterior cranial fossae.

Groove

houses long blood vessels or nerve segments for protection against compression by adjacent structures. Example: the radial and transverse sinus grooves.

Fissure

An open slit in a bone that usually houses nerves and blood vessels. Example: the skull's superior and inferior orbital fissures

Foramen

A hole through which nerves and blood vessels pass. Example: the supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental foramina in the cranium