Bones and the skeleton
We each have a skeleton to support our softer organs and tissues, but that’s not all it does. By transmitting force and providing leverage, our skeleton allows us to move. Browse our gallery of 11 images of bones and skeletons to get closer to what’s inside all of us.
Image research by Benjamin Thompson and Chrissie Giles; captions adapted by Chrissie Giles. All of the images are free to use in your classroom. For more scientific and medical images, see Wellcome Images.
Human skeleton
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IMAGE 1 of 11
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The skeleton of a human male in a sitting position.
Credit: Wellcome Library, London.
Credit: Wellcome Library, London.
Normal bone
IMAGE 2 of 11
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A scanning electron micrograph of normal bone. This sample is from a vertebra (a bone of the spine) of a healthy male.
Credit: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images.
Bone affected by osteoporosis
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IMAGE 3 of 11
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A scanning electron micrograph of osteoporotic bone. This sample is from a vertebra (a bone of the spine) of an 89-year-old woman with osteoporosis.
Credit: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images.
Bone affected by osteoporosis
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IMAGE 4 of 11
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A thin slice of an osteoporotic vertebra (a bone of the spine) from an 89-year-old woman, showing damage to the structure of the bone. This image has been colour enhanced.
Credit: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images.
Growing bone
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IMAGE 5 of 11
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A region of growth (epiphyseal growth plate) in an immature thighbone. Cartilage is stained purple, and bone is stained yellow-green. The rapidly dividing cartilage cells within the purple band at the top form stacks that run parallel to the long axis of the bone. Below this zone, the cartilage becomes calcified and the cartilage cells (chondrocytes) die. Further down is the ossification zone, where the bone tissue is laid down.
Credit: Karin Hing, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Karin Hing, Wellcome Images.
The epiphysis
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IMAGE 6 of 11
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The ‘epiphysis’ is the rounded end of a long bone - the region of bone that forms joints with adjacent bones. The process seen here is ossification, the growth process that results in the generation of new bone. Calcification occurs during ossification.
Credit: Spike Walker, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Spike Walker, Wellcome Images.
Compact bone
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IMAGE 7 of 11
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Compact bone, from human femur. Transverse sections showing cross-sections and the arrangement of osteons and Haversian canals. Bone is made up of two types of tissue: the compact bone forms a shell around the spongy cancellous bone that makes up the marrow space in the centre. Compact bone provides strength and rigidity and is solid in appearance. It is composed of a layered matrix of organic substances and inorganic salts that form around an intricate network of vasculature called Haversian canals.
Credit: Ivor Mason, KCL, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Ivor Mason, KCL, Wellcome Images.
Human fingers
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IMAGE 8 of 11
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The bones of the human fingers, wearing a ring. This image is a photograph of an X-ray attributed to L Ropner, 1897.
Credit:Wellcome Library, London.
Credit:Wellcome Library, London.
Composition of bone
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IMAGE 9 of 11
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A diagram showing a cross-section of the composition of bone.
Credit: Miles Kelly Art Library, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Miles Kelly Art Library, Wellcome Images.
Female figure running
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IMAGE 10 of 11
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Artwork of the figure of a woman running, revealing the skeleton beneath transparent skin.
Credit: Oliver Burston, Wellcome Images.
Credit: Oliver Burston, Wellcome Images.
Skeleton of a man with numerous osseous growths
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IMAGE 11 of 11
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The skeleton of a man, aged 39 years, which had numerous osseous growths of varied dimensions. From the Hunterian specimen in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, no.1616a. Presented by Samuel George Shattock, Esq (1888-1889).
Credit: St Bartholomew’s Hospital Archives and Museum, Wellcome Images.
Credit: St Bartholomew’s Hospital Archives and Museum, Wellcome Images.