The human skeleton is divided into two main divisions - the axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton forms the central axis and includes the skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage. It contains a total of 80 bones. The appendicular skeleton includes all bones of the upper and lower limbs and the shoulder and pelvic girdles that attach each limb to the axial skeleton. It contains a total of 126 bones. Together these two divisions make up the 206 total bones in the adult human skeleton.