The axial skeleton is the part of the skeleton that consists of the bones of the head and trunk of a vertebrate. In the human skeleton, it consists of 80 bones and is composed of six parts; the skull (22 bones), also the ossicles of the middle ear, the hyoid bone, the rib cage, sternum and the vertebral column.

What is in the axial skeleton?

The axial skeleton includes all the bones along the body's long axis. ... The axial skeleton includes the bones that form the skull, laryngeal skeleton, vertebral column, and thoracic cage. The bones of the appendicular skeleton (the limbs and girdles) “append” to the axial skeleton.

What bones are in axial skeleton?

The axial skeleton forms the central axis of the body and includes the bones of the skull, ossicles of the middle ear, hyoid bone of the throat, vertebral column, and the thoracic cage (ribcage) (Figure 1).