Editing Appendicular skeleton (section)

{{short description|Part of the skeletal system}}
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name      = Appendicular skeleton
| Latin     = skeleton appendiculare
| Image     = Appendicular skeleton diagram.svg
| Caption   = Human appendicular skeleton
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| Precursor =
| System    =
| Artery    =
| Vein      =
| Nerve     =
| Lymph     =
}}
The '''appendicular skeleton''' is the portion of the [[vertebrate]] [[endoskeleton]] consisting of the [[bone]]s, [[cartilage]]s and [[ligament]]s that support the [[bilateral symmetry|paired]] [[appendage]]s ([[fish fin|fin]]s, [[flipper (anatomy)|flipper]]s or [[limb (anatomy)|limb]]s). In most [[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] vertebrates (except [[snake]]s, [[legless lizard]]s and [[caecillian]]s), the appendicular skeleton and the associated [[skeletal muscle]]s are the predominant [[animal locomotion|locomotive]] structures.

There are 126 [[bone]]s in the [[human]] appendicular skeleton, includes the skeletal elements within the [[shoulder girdle|shoulder]] and [[pelvic girdle]]s, [[upper limb|upper]] and [[lower limb]]s, and [[hand]]s and [[feet]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/547371/skeleton/41994/Amphibians-and-higher-vertebrates Skeleton] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Updated 24 August 2014.</ref> These bones have shared ancestry (are [[homology (biology)|homologous]]) to those in the [[forelimb]]s and [[hindlimb]]s of all other [[tetrapod]]s, which are in turn homologous to the pectoral and pelvic fins in [[fish]].