An adult has a skeleton consisting of 206 bones. However, scientists say that many adults have only 204 pieces. Why is there this difference?
Disappearance of 2 bones in some adults
In 1985, Chinese scientists conducted a study on the structure of adult bones. They also made a comparison between Asian and European skeletons. Then, scientists discovered an interesting fact that the bones of the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and some other countries in Asia have only 204 bones. This is different from the information that the adult skeleton has 206 bones. So where are the two missing bones?
In some adults, scientists found they only have 204 bones. (Photo: INF)
The results of the study show that the difference lies in the 5th toe. Accordingly, the 5th toe of the Asian group mentioned above has only 2 vertebrae, while the European has 3 vertebrae.
In 1995, Japanese scientists conducted a survey of the feet of nearly 1,000 Asians. In which, 451 people have 2 vertebrae in the 5th toe, 81 people have only 2 vertebrae in the 4th toe and 10 people have 2 vertebrae in the 3rd toe. After this survey, they came up with the following results. The argument is that most Asians usually have 2 vertebrae in the 5th toe and rarely do the same in other fingers.
Then a group of British scientists expanded the scope of the survey. They observed the feet of 838 people from European countries and 260 from Japan. The results were quite surprising, out of 828 Europeans, only 4 had 2 vertebrae in the 3rd toe, 13 had 2 vertebrae in the 4th toe, and 310 had 2 vertebrae in the 5th. with 260 Japanese, the ratio is 0/20/191.
According to the survey, these adults usually only have 2 vertebrae in the toe. (Photo: INF)
Combined with the analysis of the feet of 4,632 Britons, they get a ratio of 21 people (equivalent to 0.45%) of which there are 2 vertebrae in the 3rd toe; 100 people (equivalent to 2.16%) have 2 vertebrae in the 4th finger and 1970 people (equivalent to 42.53%) have 2 vertebrae in the 5th toe. This shows that there is indeed a difference in number the amount of bone in the body of some people. Cases of more or less than 206 bones are rare. However, where did the remaining 2 bones disappear?
Why do some adults have 2 fewer bones than others?
In fact, it is an unbelievable fact that babies have more bones than adults. It is estimated that the infant skeleton has about 300 bones. The number of bones in children is 217 pieces. Scientists found that the number of human bones is not fixed and can change with development. What happened to decrease the number of bones from 300 at birth to 206 as an adult? There is only 1 cause.
Newborns have about 300 bones, while adults usually have 206. (Photo: INF)
This is because many of the baby’s bones will fuse together, meaning the actual number of bones will be reduced. Bone fusion occurs throughout the body. The replacement of cartilage with fused bone begins when small blood vessels – called capillaries – deliver nutrient-rich blood to osteoblasts, the cells that form bone. Initially, osteoblasts create the bone that covers the cartilage and then, completely replace it.
Later, bone growth in children occurs at the head of many bones, where the growth plates are located. The tissue that develops in each bone determines the final size and shape of that bone. When a person stops growing, the growth plates close. Usually, by the age of 25, this process is complete. After this happens, the bones of a person of this age can no longer increase in size. All of these bones make up an adult human skeleton.
What is the effect of the “deficiency” of bone in some adults?
Experts say that the lack of bone in some adults does not affect their health and activities. (Photo: INF)
Scientists say the fact that some adults have only 204 bones does not affect walking or functioning. This is just human evolution to suit the conditions of development and survival. The fusion of the infant’s bones from 300 to 206 in adulthood also reduces the probability of injury. This also proves that the less bones an adult human has, the better it evolves.
*The article is compiled information from INF, Vocal.