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This anatomy quiz has 164 free questions with answers and starts with easy anatomy trivia questions almost anyone can answer, such as which organ pumps blood, which bone is the collarbone and how many teeth adults have, then works up to the femur, the hyoid, the stapes and the nephron for players who want a real test. It is a good fit for classrooms, nursing and pre-med study groups, pub quiz rounds and anyone curious about how the body is put together. Every question is multiple choice with an explanation that adds one extra fact. Each answer has been checked against a primary reference such as an anatomy textbook or an encyclopaedia entry, so what you learn here is worth remembering.
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Q 01Which bone is the longest in the human body?
Femur
The femur, or thigh bone, is the longest, strongest and heaviest bone in the body, and the only bone in the upper leg.
Q 02Which organ is both the heaviest internal organ and the largest gland in the human body?
Liver
The liver weighs about 1.5 kg in an adult and is the only internal organ that can regenerate much of its own tissue.
Q 03Which bone is the largest sesamoid bone in the human body, meaning it sits embedded within a tendon?
Patella
The patella, or kneecap, is the largest sesamoid bone in the body; it is embedded in the quadriceps tendon and shields the front of the knee joint.
Q 04What is the primary function of red blood cells in the human body?
Transport oxygen
Transport oxygen is the job: erythrocytes are packed with iron-rich haemoglobin that binds oxygen in the lungs and releases it as the cells squeeze through capillaries.
Q 05What is the outermost layer of the human skin called?
Epidermis
The epidermis is the thin, tough, outermost layer of the skin that provides a waterproof barrier and protects the body from the environment.
Q 06What is the microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney?
Nephron
The nephron is the minute structural and functional unit of the kidney, responsible for filtering blood and producing urine.
Q 07How many pairs of cranial nerves are typically found in the human body?
12
They are numbered I to XII, and a thirteenth, the terminal nerve (numbered 0), has more recently been recognised.
Q 08What is the tough, fibrous outer layer of the eye that is commonly known as the 'white of the eye'?
Sclera
The sclera is the opaque, fibrous outer coat, mostly collagen, that keeps the eye's shape; the clear cornea at the front is continuous with it.
Q 09Which structure, known as the voice box, houses the vocal cords?
Larynx
The larynx holds the vocal folds, whose slit, the rima glottidis, is its narrowest part; the pharynx sits above it.
Q 10Which pea-sized 'master gland' hangs off the base of the brain?
Pituitary gland
The pituitary gland, about the size of a pea, hangs by a stalk from the base of the brain and controls many other endocrine glands, earning it the name 'master gland'.
Q 11What type of tissue primarily connects muscle to bone?
Tendons
Tendons transmit the pull of muscle contraction to bone; ligaments, the usual mix-up, join bone to bone.
Q 12Which horseshoe-shaped neck bone is the only human bone not connected to another bone?
Hyoid
The hyoid hangs from muscles and ligaments alone, anchoring the tongue and helping with swallowing.
Q 13What is the largest organ of the human body?
Skin
Skin makes up roughly 16% of body mass; the heaviest internal organ is a different one.
Q 14How many bones are typically found in the adult human skeleton?
Q 21Which transparent structure behind the pupil changes shape to focus light on the retina?
Lens
The lens is a flexible, transparent disc behind the iris; the ciliary muscle alters its curvature, a process called accommodation, to focus light from near or far objects onto the retina.
Q 22Which blood type is the universal recipient for red cell transfusions?
AB+
AB+ already carries A and B antigens plus the Rh factor, so the immune system has nothing new to attack; O- is the universal donor.
Q 23What are the three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord collectively called?
Meninges
Meninges are three layers: the tough dura mater, the web-like arachnoid and the delicate pia mater.
206
206 in an adult, down from around 270 at birth, as bones fuse during growth.
Q 15Which part of the brain is primarily responsible for balance and coordination?
Cerebellum
The cerebellum, the 'little brain' at the back of the head, does not initiate movement but fine-tunes its coordination, precision and timing.
Q 16What type of muscle tissue is found in the walls of internal organs like the stomach and intestines?
Smooth
Smooth muscle is involuntary and has no striations; the same tissue lines blood vessels as vascular smooth muscle.
Q 17Which bone, tucked in the middle ear, is the smallest in the human body?
Stapes
The stapes, about 3 mm long, is the smallest and lightest bone in the body, one of the three ossicles that carry vibrations across the middle ear.
Q 18Which organ is primarily responsible for filtering waste products from the blood and producing urine?
Kidney
Kidneys filter about a fifth of the blood that enters them at the glomerulus, and the resulting urine drains down the ureters to the bladder.
Q 19Which type of blood vessel carries deoxygenated blood back to the heart?
Veins
Veins are blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood from the body's tissues back to the heart. The main exceptions are the pulmonary veins, which carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart.
Q 20What is the outermost layer of the cerebrum called?
Cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex is the brain's outer sheet of grey matter, folded into ridges (gyri) and grooves (sulci); it is only about 2 to 4 mm thick.
Q 24How many chambers does the human heart possess?
Four
The human heart is a double pump with four chambers: two upper atria (right and left) and two lower ventricles (right and left).
Q 25Which muscular organ pumps blood through the body's blood vessels?
Heart
The heart, a muscular pump about the size of a closed fist, sits between the lungs in the middle of the chest and drives blood through the body's vessels.
Q 26The humerus is a long bone found in which part of the body?
Upper arm
The humerus is the long bone of the upper arm, running from the shoulder to the elbow; bumping the ulnar nerve near its lower end gives the 'funny bone' tingle.
Q 27Which bone is commonly known as the collarbone?
Clavicle
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender S-shaped bone about 15 centimetres long that acts as a strut between the shoulder blade and the breastbone.
Q 28What are the millions of tiny air sacs in the lungs, where oxygen enters the blood, called?
Alveoli
Alveoli, from the Latin for 'little cavity', are the tiny air sacs at the ends of the bronchioles; oxygen crosses their thin walls into the blood while carbon dioxide passes out.
Q 29Which coloured, ring-shaped part of the eye controls the size of the pupil?
Iris
The iris is the coloured ring of muscle around the pupil; like a camera diaphragm it widens or narrows the pupil to control how much light enters the eye.
Q 30What is the medical name for the windpipe?
Trachea
The trachea, or windpipe, is a tube about 10 to 12 cm long held open by C-shaped cartilage rings, running from the larynx down to the two main bronchi.