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
Accessory bone Accessory bone An accessory bone or supernumerary bone is a bone that is not normally present in the body, but can be found as a variant in a significant number of people. They pose a risk of being misdiagnosed as bone fractures on radiography. The "os ulnostyloideum" is an ulnar styloid process that is not fused to the rest of the ulna bone. On X-rays, an "os ulnostyloideum" is sometimes mistaken for an avulsion fracture of the styloid process. However, the distinction between these is extremely difficult. It is alleged that the os ulnostyloideum has a close relationship with or