HUMAN SKELETON A SPECIAL CREATION 117 



seven cervical, in the neck ; twelve dorsal, in the back ; 

 five lumbar in the small of the back; five sacral, in 

 the sacrum; and four ccccygeal, in the coccyx. But 

 in the adult, there are only twenty-six, the five sacral 

 joints having fused into one bone, and the four in the 

 coccyx having fused into another; the-e two and the 

 twenty-four regular vertebrae (joints) making twenty- 

 six. (Same book, p. 820.) In the chest there are 

 twelve pairs of ribs, the sternum or breast bone and 

 the hyoid or tongue bone, twenty-six in all. (Same 

 book, p. 822.) Each arm and hand, including the 

 scapula or shoulder blade, con-ists of thirty-two bones, 

 making sixty-four in the two arms and hands. Tn each 

 leg and foot, including the bones of the pelvis, there 

 are thirty-one bones, making sixty-two in the pelvis 

 legs and feet. So that the adult human skeleton con- 

 sists of two hundred and six bcnes, besides the thirty- 

 two teeth. (Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia 7, p. 553.) 



The same book, (p. 533) says: 



' At birth their number is 278 ; at the age of twen- 

 ty-five, 224; in advanced old age, 194. About 660 seg- 

 ments are needed in the formation of the 206 bones. " 



In another place it says : 



"Thus, the thigh bone or femur represents the 

 fusion of at least five distinct segments, the uni^n not 

 being fully completed until about the twentieth year.' 

 (Same bock, p. 553, column 1.) 



There is no bone in the fer.ilized ovum; tliurufure 

 each skeleton and each bone is produced anew ; that 

 is, it grows anew for itself. No two bones are ex-icMy 

 alike. In the case of pairs sirnil-ir bones are on op- 

 posite sides of the body, thus halt' the ribs, one arm, 



