Left or Right Bones Quiz – Humerus, Femur, Scapula

All 16 bones on the diagram

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Humerus 1 1

Right Right humerus, front view. The head points toward the midline.

Humerus 2 1

Left Left humerus from behind. The deep olecranon fossa marks the back.

Humerus 3 1

Left Left humerus, front view. The head points toward the midline.

Humerus 4 1

Right Right humerus from behind. The deep olecranon fossa marks the back.

Femur 1 1

Left Left femur from behind. The linea aspera runs down the back.

Femur 2 1

Right Right femur, front view. The head points toward the midline.

Femur 3 1

Right Right femur from behind. The linea aspera runs down the back.

Femur 4 1

Left Left femur, front view. The head points toward the midline.

Scapula 1 1

Left Left scapula from the front. The socket faces away from the midline.

Scapula 2 1

Left Left scapula from behind. The spine is on the back.

Scapula 3 1

Right Right scapula from behind. The spine is on the back.

Scapula 4 1

Right Right scapula from the front. The socket faces away from the midline.

Leg bones 1 1

Right Right leg, front view. The thin fibula is the outer bone.

Forearm bones 1 1

Left Left forearm, palm forward. The radius is the outer bone.

Leg bones 2 1

Left Left leg, front view. The thin fibula is the outer bone.

Forearm bones 2 1

Right Right forearm, palm forward. The radius is the outer bone.

How this list was compiled: Which way each feature faces was checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these, and written in our own words: Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918, public domain), The Humerus, The Femur, The Tibia, The Fibula, The Radius and The Ulna; TeachMeAnatomy, The Humerus, The Femur, The Scapula, The Tibia, The Radius and The Ulna; Kenhub, Humerus and Scapula. Licence: own work

The drawing: Put together for this site on 2026-10-05 by script from the site's own drawings of the humerus, femur, scapula, tibia and fibula, and radius and ulna; each left bone is a right one mirrored. The humerus was drawn on 2026-09-26 from plain geometry, nothing traced. The outlines of the other bones were read off public domain plates in Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (20th US edition, 1918): figs. 244 and 245 for the femur (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray244.png, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray245.png), figs. 202 and 203 for the scapula, mirrored (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray202.png, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray203.png), fig. 258 for the tibia and fibula (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray258.png) and fig. 213 for the radius and ulna, mirrored (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray213.png). The inner lines, tints, hatching, the collarbone and the membranes are our own. Licence: own drawing; outlines after public domain plates

How it works

A lab practical asks it often: is this a left bone or a right one? Each card shows one bone, as drawn on its own page or mirrored: a humerus, a femur, a scapula, a leg or a forearm.

Read the full guide

Front or back first

Decide which face of the bone you see. The humerus has a deep hollow, the olecranon fossa, on the back above the elbow end. The femur has a rough ridge, the linea aspera, down the back of its shaft. The scapula has its spine on the back.

Then inner or outer

The head of the humerus and the head of the femur point toward the midline of the body. The socket of the scapula, the glenoid cavity, faces away from it. In the leg the thin fibula is the outer bone. In the forearm, palm forward, the radius is the outer bone.

Seen from the front, a right bone has its inner side on your right. Seen from behind, on your left.

Questions and answers

How do you tell a left humerus from a right humerus?

Find the head: it faces the midline of the body. Then find the olecranon fossa, the deep hollow above the elbow end, which is on the back. Only one side fits both.

How do you tell a left femur from a right femur?

The head points up and toward the midline, and the linea aspera, a rough ridge, runs down the back of the shaft. Turn the bone so the ridge is behind, then see which way the head points.

How do you tell a left scapula from a right scapula?

The spine is on the back of the scapula and the glenoid cavity, the shoulder socket, is at its outer corner. With the spine toward you, a socket on your right means a right scapula.

Which side of the leg is the fibula on?

The outer side. The tibia is on the inner side of the leg, and its lower end forms the inner ankle bump, the medial malleolus.