
What Steps Does The Musculoskeletal System Go Through From Childhood To Adulthood To Reach 206 Bones?

Babies are born with over 270 bones and as they become adults will end up with 206 bones through fusion of different bones.When babies are born some of the bones are actually caritlage which will change (ossify) and harden into bones.Ossification is the process of laying down new bone material by cells in the body called osteoblasts.
In the skull- the bones in the baby's skull are not fused to allow for easier passage through the birth canal.After birth these bones begin to fuse.Initially there are 8 bones in the cranium
The vertebra- at birth 33 bones are present, the lower nine of these fuse- the first 5 to form the sacrum and the last four form the coccyx
The mandible ( one of the bones in the jaw) is initially composed of two hemimandibles which fuse by age 2
The clavicle also fuses, initially 2 parts
There are three bones in the hip that also fuse by a adolescence
The sternum also consists of different parts that will fuse- initially have 4 pieces
I hope this information helps, feel free to ask any other questions

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