--- title: Bones by name: the skull, jaw, spine and ribs — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Bones by name: the skull, jaw, spine and ribs», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: The skull looks like one big bone, but it is 22 bones fitted together with zigzag seams called sutures, as tight as the piec --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / Bones by name: the skull, jaw, spine a… # Bones by name: the skull, jaw, spine and ribs Lesson 357 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 14 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/0/) — The skull looks like one big bone, but it is 22 bones fitted together with zigzag seams called sutures, as tight as the pieces of a hard jigsaw. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/1/) — Only one skull bone moves: the lower jaw, which swings on a hinge just in front of each ear; put your fingers there and open your mouth to feel it. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/2/) — Run your hand down a friend's back and you feel a row of bumps: these are the back edges of the vertebrae, the bones of the spine, stacked in a gentle S-curve with soft cushions called discs between them. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/3/) — Twelve pairs of ribs curve round from the spine like a cage, guarding the heart and lungs while still letting the chest swell when you breathe. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/4/) — The skull has 22 bones: 8 around the brain and 14 in the face, joined by zigzag seams called sutures. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/5/) — In a baby the sutures are still open, with soft spots between the bones, so the head can squeeze through at birth and the brain can grow; they close slowly into adulthood. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/6/) — The lower jaw, or mandible, is the strongest bone of the face and the only skull bone that moves; its hinge is just in front of the ear. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/8/) — The spine is made of 33 vertebrae: 7 in the neck, 12 in the chest, 5 in the lower back, and the rest fused together into the base of the spine and the tailbone. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/9/) — Humans and giraffes both have seven neck vertebrae; a giraffe's are each very long, and almost all mammals have seven. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/10/) — The spine has an S-shaped curve that works like a spring and balances the head over the hips, and soft discs between the vertebrae cushion each step. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/11/) — The tailbone, or coccyx, is a few tiny vertebrae fused together, a leftover of the tails of our ancestors; muscles still attach to it, so a fall on it hurts. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/12/) — People have 12 pairs of ribs, 24 in all, and men and women have the same number; the idea that men have one rib fewer is a myth. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/13/) — Ribs protect the heart and lungs, and the lowest two pairs are floating ribs, not joined at the front, which leaves room to breathe and bend. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/357-bones-by-name-the-skull-jaw-spine-and-ribs/14/) — A few people have an extra small rib in the neck. - ← previous: [Nails, sweat and smells: smelly feet, armpits and bad breath](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/356-nails-sweat-and-smells-smelly-feet-armpits-and-bad-breath/) - next →: [Bones by name: shoulders, arms and hands](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/358-bones-by-name-shoulders-arms-and-hands/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)