How to Translate Between Anatomical and Common-use Bone Names

The adult human body has 206 bones, according to Andre Biel, author of "Trail Guide to the Body: A Hands-On Guide to Locating Muscles, Bones, and More." Medical professionals often use anatomical names for the bones, while lay people may use colloquial or common-use names. Try using this cheat-sheet before your next doctor's appointment.

Instructions

• 1

  Run your fingers down the front of your neck until you find a notch at the base. On either side of this notch is a horizontal bone, often referred to as your collarbone. A doctor may refer to these bones as clavicles, according to Biel.

• 2

  Touch the notch at the base of your neck again, and continue running your fingers down about two to five inches until you reach a firm boney area, smaller than the palm of your hand. You may know this bone as your breastbone; its anatomical name is sternum.

• 3

  Slide your fingers down the center of a friend's back, feeling the tiny bumps along the surface. Some people call this your backbone, or your spine. The human spine is a series of 25 tiny bones, or vertebrae, that stack to create a column, notes Biel. The bone at the end of your spine, often called a tailbone, carries the anatomical named "coccyx."

• 4

  Glide your hand above your tailbone until you find a boney plate about the size of your palm. A doctor would call this your sacrum.

• 5

  Flatten your hands against your friend's back, with your fingertips at the top of the shoulders. If you can feel a triangular bone under each palm, your hands are on your friend's shoulder blades, or "wing bones." A chiropractor might call these your scapulae.

• 6

  Slide your hands down your sides until they catch on your hips. The boney protuberance in front is your hipbone. A medical professional would call this your "ASIS," or anterior superior iliac spine. The ridge that runs from the ASIS around to your lower back is the top of your pelvis; its anatomical name is iliac crest.

• 7

  Run your hands down your thighs until you reach the boney point on your knee, often called the kneecap. A physical therapist might refer to this as your patella.

• 8

  Stub your toe and you may end up breaking one or two foot phalanges, or toe bones. Break a finger, and your doctor may splint one of your hand phalanges, or finger bones.