Pasta Skeleton Labeled – Bone Labels to Print and Cut Out

All 16 labels

Head and trunk 8

Breastbone Suggested pasta: one short tube. It lies in the middle of the chest, joined to the ribs.
Collarbone Suggested pasta: two short straight pieces. One runs from the breastbone to each shoulder.
Hip bones Suggested pasta: one bow tie. They sit at the bottom of the spine, where the thigh bones join.
Lower jaw Suggested pasta: one elbow macaroni. It sits under the rest of the skull.
Ribs Suggested pasta: elbow macaroni. They curve from the spine toward the breastbone.
Shoulder blade Suggested pasta: two small shells. One sits at the back of each shoulder.
Skull Suggested pasta: one large shell. It sits at the top of the skeleton.
Spine Suggested pasta: a row of small rings. It runs from the skull down to the hip bones.

Arms and legs 8

Ankle and foot bones Suggested pasta: two small shells. One goes at the end of each lower leg.
Finger and toe bones Suggested pasta: short bits of thin straight pasta. They fan out from each hand and foot.
Forearm bones Suggested pasta: four thin straight pieces. Two lie side by side from each elbow to the wrist.
Kneecap Suggested pasta: two small rings. One sits at the front of each knee.
Lower leg bones Suggested pasta: four thin tubes. Two lie side by side from each knee to the ankle.
Thigh bone Suggested pasta: your two biggest tubes. Each runs from a hip to a knee.
Upper arm bone Suggested pasta: two long tubes. Each runs from a shoulder to an elbow.
Wrist and hand bones Suggested pasta: two small shells. One goes at the end of each forearm.

How this list was compiled

Bone names: the textbook name on the back of each card is on the lists of the SEER Training Modules of the National Cancer Institute (a United States government work), Axial Skeleton, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/skeletal/divisions/axial.html, and Appendicular Skeleton, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/skeletal/divisions/appendicular.html, read on 2026-10-02; the one exception is Cranium, the dictionary's and Wikipedia's name for the skull, which those lists call Skull. The everyday name on the front, and where each bone lies, were read the same day in two places: the entry for the bone in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q= followed by cranium, mandible, backbone, rib, sternum, clavicle, scapula, hipbone, humerus, radius, ulna, carpal, metacarpal, phalanx, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsal or metatarsal) and the opening of the English Wikipedia articles Skull, Mandible, Vertebral column, Rib, Sternum, Clavicle, Scapula, Hip bone, Humerus, Radius (bone), Ulna, Carpal bones, Metacarpal bones, Phalanx bone, Femur, Patella, Tibia, Fibula, Tarsus (skeleton) and Metatarsal bones. Where the breastbone, the lower jaw and the hip bones lie was also read, on 2026-10-03, in the same institute's dictionary of terms, entries sternum, mandible and pelvis (https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms). The pasta shapes are the site's own suggestions, not facts from a source. Licence: own work

How it works

A pasta skeleton, labeled, needs a name beside every bone. Here are all 16 labels: 8 for the head and trunk, Skull to Hip bones, and 8 for the arms and legs. Show answer gives the textbook name.

Read the full guide

From the sheet to the skeleton

Print 16 labels puts all sixteen names on two sheets. Cut them apart and glue each one beside its bone. Print 16 cards adds the textbook name on the back, for a project that asks for both names, such as thigh bone and femur.

A pasta shape for each bone

The list under the cards suggests a shape for every bone: a large shell for the skull, elbow macaroni for the ribs, tubes for the long bones of the arms and legs. The shapes are this site's own suggestions, not facts from a source: any pasta of a similar shape works.

Match the labels to the list your teacher gave: a bone you did not glue down needs no label.

Questions and answers

What pasta do you use for a pasta skeleton?

Any dry shapes that look like the bones. This page suggests a large shell for the skull, small rings for the spine, elbow macaroni for the ribs, a bow tie for the hip bones and tubes for the arms and legs.

Which bones are labeled on a pasta skeleton?

Here, the skull, lower jaw, spine, ribs, breastbone, collarbone, shoulder blade and hip bones, then the upper arm bone, forearm bones, wrist and hand bones, finger and toe bones, thigh bone, kneecap, lower leg bones and ankle and foot bones.

What are the textbook names of the bones?

Cranium for the skull, mandible for the lower jaw, sternum for the breastbone, clavicle for the collarbone, scapula for the shoulder blade, humerus for the upper arm bone, femur for the thigh bone and patella for the kneecap.

How many ribs does a skeleton have?

Twelve pairs, which makes 24 ribs. They curve from the spine toward the breastbone. On a small pasta skeleton a few pieces of elbow macaroni on each side can stand for them.

Pasta Skeleton Labeled: Bone Labels to Print