Bone vessels and cartilage. In the human body at birth, there are over 270 bones, but many of these fuse together during development, leaving a total of 206 separate bones in the adult, not counting numerous small sesamoid bones. The largest bone in the body is the femur or thigh-bone, and the smallest is the stapes in the middle ear. The Greek word for bone is ὀστέον ("osteon"), hence the many terms that use it as a prefix – such as osteopathy. Bone is not uniformly solid, but consists of a flexible matrix (about 30%) and bound minerals (about 70%) which
Body of sphenoid bone the crest is an irregular opening leading into the corresponding sphenoidal air sinus. These sinuses are two large, irregular cavities hollowed out of the interior of the body of the bone, and separated from one another by a bony septum, which is commonly bent to one or the other side. They vary considerably in form and size, are seldom symmetrical, and are often partially subdivided by irregular bony laminae. Occasionally, they extend into the basilar part of the occipital bone nearly as far as the foramen magnum. They begin to be developed before birth, and are of a considerable size