Happy Halloween! Here are facts from Dr. Shevaun Doyle, Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, about some of the bones in your skeleton:
1. The femur bone is the longest and strongest bone in the body. Located in the thigh, it spans the hip and knee joints and helps maintain upright posture by supporting the skeleton.
2. The humerus bone is in the upper arm and spans the shoulder and elbow joints. This is the same bone that’s often referred to as the funny bone. That’s because the ulna nerve curves around the elbow end of the humerus and is susceptible to getting knocked, causing a funny, tingling sensation down the forearm. The humerus helps us perform many everyday activities such as eating and lifting objects.
3. The coccyx is the tail bone, located at the very base of the spinal column. The coccyx provides support to the muscles of the hip and pelvis that attach to it.
4. The calcaneus is the heel bone. Its function is to help us push off from the ground when we take a step.
5. The stapes bone is the smallest bone located in the ear. It serves to transmit sound and vibration to the cochlea.
Dr. Shevaun Doyle specializes in general pediatric orthopedics, pediatric orthopedic trauma, pediatric and adolescent metabolic bone disease, and scoliosis.
