The human skeleton can be broken up into two separate categories: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton consists of the 80 bones in the head and thorax of the human body, and is composed of five parts: the cranium, the ossicles of the inner ear, the hyoid bone of the throat, the thoracic cage, and the vertebral column. The axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton together form the complete skeleton.