Free Printable Anatomy Crossword Puzzles

Print a criss-cross anatomy crossword of bones, muscles, vessels, organs and direction terms, each with its answer key.

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Anatomy Crossword

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Answer key: Anatomy Crossword

1O2C3SRAPG4P5FRIAUE6TENDONLMIE7SKULL8NER9ARTERY10RGR11KIDNEYVB12VEIN

Across 6 TENDON · 7 SKULL · 9 ARTERY · 11 KIDNEY · 12 VEIN

Down 1 ORGAN · 2 CARTILAGE · 3 SPINE · 4 PULSE · 5 FEMUR · 8 NERVE · 10 RIB

Next step Print the skeletal system word searchPrint the circulatory system word search

All 173 clues

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Bones and Joints 37

  • Ankle Region where the leg ends and the foot begins
  • Carpals Small bones at the base of the hand, sixteen in all in the two arms
  • Cartilage Bendable tissue, firmer than muscle, that has no blood vessels of its own
  • Clavicle Strut-like bone at the top of the chest, one on each side
  • Coccyx Tailbone
  • Collagen Protein that makes up a quarter to a third of all the protein in a mammal
  • Cranium The eight bones that enclose the brain, taken together
  • Elbow Hinge between the upper arm and the forearm
  • Femur Thighbone; its top end joins the pelvic bone
  • Fibula Smaller of the two bones of the leg below the thigh
  • Hip Ball-and-socket joint at the top of the leg
  • Humerus Arm bone that connects the shoulder blade to the two forearm bones
  • Hyoid Free-floating neck bone, also called the lingual bone
  • Jaw Upper or lower, a bony part that holds a row of teeth
  • Knee Largest joint of the body, between the thigh and the lower leg
  • Ligament Strap of tough tissue across a joint, running from one bone to the next
  • Mandible Largest and lowest bone of the face
  • Marrow Semi-solid filling of the spongy parts of bones
  • Patella Kneecap, the largest sesamoid bone of the body
  • Pelvis Bony basin at the base of the trunk, where the legs attach
  • Phalanges Finger and toe bones: 28 in the two hands and 28 in the two feet
  • Radius Shorter of the two forearm bones
  • Rib Curved bone of the chest; most people have twelve pairs
  • Sacrum Triangular bone at the base of the backbone, made of five fused parts
  • Scapula Large flat bone that lies over the back of the upper chest wall
  • Skeleton At birth it has around 270 bones; some fuse as a child grows
  • Skull Bony framework of the head: 28 bones in all, counting those of the ear
  • Spine Backbone, with 7 bones in the neck and 12 behind the chest
  • Stapes Ear bone that sends sound on through the oval window
  • Sternum Long flat bone at the front of the chest that helps protect the heart
  • Suture Joint that does not move, like the seams between the bones of the head
  • Synovial Kind of joint that moves freely and holds a slippery fluid
  • Tarsals Seven bones that make up the back half of the foot
  • Tibia Leg bone also called the shankbone, the stronger of the pair below the kneecap
  • Ulna Forearm bone on the pinky side
  • Vertebra Bone with a central opening; a column of them guards the spinal canal
  • Wrist Part of the arm that a bracelet goes around

Muscles and Tendons 27

  • Achilles Greek hero who gives his name to the thick cord above the heel
  • Biceps Its full name ends in brachii: the muscle on the front of the arm
  • Calf Fleshy part of the leg behind the shin
  • Cardiac Kind of muscle found only in the heart
  • Cuff Rotator ___, the group of four muscles that steadies the shoulder
  • Deltoid Shoulder muscle whose name describes its triangular shape
  • Diaphragm Dome-shaped muscle below the chest that drives breathing
  • Extensor Muscle that straightens a joint
  • Fascia Thin membrane wrapped around muscles that cuts down friction
  • Fiber Thread-like cell of a muscle
  • Flexor Muscle whose job is bending, from the Latin for to bend
  • Gluteus ___ maximus, the large muscle of the buttock
  • Hamstring Thigh muscle on the side opposite the quads
  • Latissimus ___ dorsi, the lat, a muscle that connects to the upper arm bone and moves the arm
  • Masseter Chewing muscle at the side of the face
  • Oblique Name of the slanting muscles at the sides of the belly
  • Pectoral Word for the large muscles of the chest, the pecs
  • Quadriceps Thigh muscles nicknamed the quads
  • Rectus ___ abdominis, the six-pack muscle of the belly
  • Sartorius Longest muscle of the body, crossing the thigh; the tailor's muscle
  • Skeletal Kind of muscle you move on purpose; it pulls on bones
  • Soleus Flat muscle of the lower leg whose name comes from the Latin for sandal
  • Sphincter Ring of muscle that opens and closes a passage
  • Tendon Sinew at the end of a muscle, where it joins a bone
  • Tongue Bundle of muscles in the mouth that shapes food and speech
  • Trapezius Broad muscle of the upper back and neck, named for its four-sided shape
  • Triceps Muscle at the back of the arm that works against the two-headed one at the front

Heart and Blood Vessels 24

  • Aorta Main vessel leaving the left side of the heart, the largest of its kind
  • Apex Pointed tip of the heart, which aims toward the left
  • Artery Kind of blood vessel in which the pressure is highest
  • Atrium Heart chamber that receives blood; the name means entry hall
  • Capillary Hair-thin vessel; its name comes from the Latin for hair
  • Carotid Name of the main vessels that carry blood up the neck to the head
  • Cava Vena ___, either of two great vessels that return blood to the right side of the heart
  • Coronary Word for the vessels that feed the heart muscle itself
  • Diastole Phase of the heartbeat when the chambers relax and fill
  • Hemoglobin What fills a red blood cell: a protein that grabs oxygen
  • Jugular Name of the vessels that drain blood from the head down the neck
  • Lymph Fluid of the vessels and nodes that run alongside the bloodstream
  • Mitral Name of the two-flap gate between the left chambers of the heart, also called bicuspid
  • Pericardium Double-walled sac around the heart
  • Plasma Watery part of blood that holds the blood cells in suspension
  • Platelet Blood particle also called a thrombocyte
  • Pulmonary Word for the circuit that carries blood away to pick up oxygen
  • Pulse Beat you can feel with a fingertip at the side of the neck
  • Septum Dividing wall inside the heart; the nose has one too
  • Spleen Blood-filtering body part high on the left of the belly
  • Systole Phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscle squeezes
  • Valve The heart has four of these one-way gates
  • Vein Vessel on the return trip to the heart, with thin walls and a wide channel
  • Ventricle Heart chamber that collects blood and pumps it out

Organs and Glands 27

  • Abdomen Belly: the part of the trunk below the chest
  • Adrenal Gland that makes adrenaline
  • Appendix Finger-shaped pouch attached to the large bowel
  • Bladder Hollow body part that collects urine before it leaves the body
  • Colon Main stretch of the large bowel, which climbs, crosses and then descends the belly
  • Duodenum First and shortest section of the small bowel
  • Esophagus Food pipe; a muscular tube about 25 centimeters long in adults
  • Gallbladder Small pear-shaped sac that stores bile
  • Hormone Signal molecule made by a gland
  • Intestine Small or large, a long tube of the gut
  • Kidney Reddish-brown body part, one of two, whose waste leaves as urine
  • Larynx Neck structure that controls the pitch and volume of the voice
  • Liver Heaviest internal part of the body, which makes bile
  • Lung One of the pair of spongy, air-filled parts in the chest
  • Nephron Microscopic filtering unit that makes urine
  • Organ Body part made of several tissues that does a special job
  • Pancreas Gland that controls blood sugar with insulin and glucagon
  • Pharynx Throat: the passage behind the nose and mouth
  • Pituitary Gland that protrudes from the bottom of the hypothalamus
  • Saliva Watery fluid of the mouth that begins digestion
  • Stomach Where gastric acid and digestive juices begin to break down a meal
  • Thorax Chest, as a doctor's chart would name it
  • Thymus Gland behind the breastbone that grows until puberty and then shrinks
  • Thyroid Butterfly-shaped gland at the front of the neck
  • Tonsil One of the lumps of lymphoid tissue at the back of the mouth and throat
  • Trachea Airway held open by a stack of horseshoe-shaped rings
  • Ureter One of two tubes down which urine drains toward its storage sac

Skin, Senses and Nerves 29

  • Canine Tooth also called a cuspid or an eye tooth
  • Cerebellum Part of the hindbrain that helps with coordination and timing
  • Cerebrum Part of the brain also called the endbrain
  • Cochlea Its name is Latin for snail: the hearing part deep in the ear
  • Cornea Transparent front layer of the eye
  • Dermis Middle layer of the skin, home of the sweat glands and the roots of hairs
  • Eardrum Membrane that separates the outer ear from the middle ear
  • Enamel Tooth coating that is 96 percent mineral
  • Epidermis Top layer of the skin, with no blood vessels in it
  • Follicle Tiny tube-shaped pit; a single hair grows out of it
  • Incisor Chisel-edged tooth at the very front of the mouth
  • Iris Ring in the eye that sets the size of the dark opening at its center
  • Keratin Tough protein of hair and fingernails
  • Lens Part of the eye whose shape can change to focus near or far
  • Melanin Pigment that colors skin, hair and eyes
  • Molar Tooth whose name comes from the Latin for millstone
  • Nail Hard plate at the tip of a finger or toe
  • Nerve Body's wiring: bundles of axons that run out from the brain and the spinal cord
  • Nostril Either hole of the nose; its Latin name is naris
  • Olfactory Word for the sense of smell
  • Optic Word for the cable that carries signals from the eye to the brain
  • Ossicles The hammer, the anvil and the stirrup, as a group
  • Palate Partition between the mouth and the nasal space above it
  • Pore Tiny opening in the skin through which sweat leaves
  • Pupil Black circle at the center of the eye
  • Retina Innermost layer of the eye, where the image is focused
  • Sclera The white of the eye
  • Sinus Air-filled hollow in the bones around the nose
  • Taste Sense whose receptors are found in the mouth

Directions and Body Regions 29

  • Anatomy Science of the body's structure, learned in the past by dissection
  • Anterior Toward the front of the body
  • Axilla Armpit
  • Brachial Of the arm
  • Cavity Space inside the trunk or the head that houses soft parts
  • Cervical Of the neck
  • Digit Any one of the five ends of a hand or a foot
  • Distal Away from the trunk, or far from the point of origin of a part
  • Dorsal Of the back; the fin on a shark's back has this name
  • Femoral Of the thigh
  • Frontal Plane, also called coronal, that divides the body into front and back
  • Inferior Away from the head; below
  • Lateral Farther from the median plane; the Latin root means to the side
  • Lumbar Of the lower back
  • Medial Closer to the median plane
  • Palmar Of the palm of the hand
  • Physiology Science of function: what the heart, a gland or a cell does
  • Plantar Of the sole of the foot
  • Posterior Toward the back of the body
  • Prone Position of a body lying chest down
  • Proximal Toward the trunk, or toward the point of origin of a part
  • Sagittal Plane that divides the body into left and right
  • Superior Nearer to the head, in the standard standing position
  • Supine Position of a sleeper who looks at the ceiling
  • System Set of body parts that work together, such as the digestive one
  • Thoracic Of the chest
  • Torso Main part of the body, without the head, arms and legs
  • Transverse Plane that divides the body into upper and lower parts
  • Ventral Opposite of the back side: toward the front of the trunk in a person

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for anatomy and health science classes, in six sets: bones and joints, muscles and tendons, heart and blood vessels, organs and glands, skin, senses and nerves, and directions and body regions. Each part was checked against English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the SEER Training anatomy modules of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (training.seer.cancer.gov), in October 2026. The clues name and place body parts; none is advice about health. Licence: own work

How it works

These free printable anatomy crossword puzzles are vocabulary crosswords for Letter or A4 paper. The first puzzle has 12 easy words, among them Femur, Artery, Tendon, Cartilage and Spine.

Read the full guide

Six sets after the easy one

Bones and Joints has Patella, Scapula and Hyoid. Muscles and Tendons has Deltoid, Sartorius and Hamstring. Heart and Blood Vessels has Aorta, Ventricle and Capillary. Organs and Glands has Pancreas, Thyroid and Nephron. Skin, Senses and Nerves has Retina, Cochlea and Enamel. Directions and Body Regions has Proximal, Sagittal and Lumbar.

Place, shape or job

A clue says where a part lies, what it looks like or what it does: the Hyoid is the free-floating neck bone, the Sartorius the longest muscle. Bone counts follow one table of the skeleton, so the Skull is 28 bones with those of the ear.

  • Before a lab practical, print Directions and Body Regions: Anterior, Medial, Distal and Supine come back in every later unit.

Questions and answers

Are there printable crossword puzzles for anatomy by body system?

Yes. The six sets follow the body system by system, so a skeleton unit can print Bones and Joints alone and a circulation unit Heart and Blood Vessels.

Do the anatomy crossword puzzles come with an answer key?

Yes. Every puzzle prints its key last, on a separate sheet. The puzzles are free and need no sign-up.

What grade are the anatomy crosswords for?

Easy Anatomy Words suits grades 5 to 8, with answers such as Rib, Knee and Lung. The six themed sets suit high school and first-year anatomy and physiology courses. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

How many bones are in the human body?

An adult has about 206. A baby is born with around 270, and some fuse as the child grows. Skeleton is an answer in the easy set, clued by the count at birth.

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