Unique bones

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Have a question for my A & P midterm...

What bones are unique in the body?

I can seem to find an answer to this question.:banghead: I have read the text book, googled it and asked fellow students without much sucess. Can anyone help me with this?

Thanks in advance.

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do you mean unique to humans?

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Yes, bones that are unique to the human body...

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

I would say the hyoid bone. The only bone in the body that does not articulate with another bone. Aids in formation of speech.

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Hyoid bone for sure.

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Specializes in ICU.

Could your teacher possibly mean bones that are unpaired? I know we had to be able to name all the paired and unpaired bones. Can't really think of any that are unique to humans, as this would require an extensive knowledge of the animal kingdom. Seems like a strange question, unless it was clearly mentioned in lecture or in your text.

I just googled hyoid bone and it appears other animals have them, too...howler monkeys for one and I found an x-ray that points out the hyoid of a dog. I think it does function differently in humans though and its shape in humans is likely different than that of other animals...but then again I'm not an expert on animals! (or bones either...just trying to help!)

Good luck with your test!

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Specializes in NICU, Psych, Education.

I thought about the hyoid as well, but it appears that that's not it. What about the coccyx? I couldn't find anything in Google that suggests that other animals have one.

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Unique bones would be the Hyoid bone and the atlas and axis vertebral bones. When they ask you about unique bones could be those bones and also the bones with the irregular shapes. So my advice to you is that if you're studying for a test, know the following bones: Atlas, Axis, hyoid, and the irregular bones. That's a safer bet :)

Have a question for my A & P midterm...

What bones are unique in the body?

I can seem to find an answer to this question.:banghead: I have read the text book, googled it and asked fellow students without much sucess. Can anyone help me with this?

Thanks in advance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well, the coccyx is also known as the tailbone, correct? And lots of animals have tails. :D But I don't know animal skeletal systems well, but it makes sense to me!

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