Human Body Word Search Puzzle With Clues, From Skull to Stomach

A human body systems word search: pick skeleton, heart, lungs or brain, and the grid holds only that system.

Name Date

Human Body Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

RBLOODSKELETONS
LRKHWNEHWHCNTEN
NAHTISSUEADENRM
EITOQIKMUSCLEVE
XNPWHOUARTERYEO
DSFEHRLMFKTSALI
NSVDSGLTONGUERR
JRELXAESBXLWVIU
OOAASNDSTOMACHA
IALUNGSFWTWGNDA
NGYRURFNFIRFVWT
TPULSERYEYEMEIR
SNKIDNEYHQKFIIF
DSCSSTLVJGBTNIW
TDERSEISNSAIIZE

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

  • SKELETON
  • SKULL
  • JOINT
  • MUSCLE
  • TISSUE
  • BLOOD
  • ARTERY
  • VEIN
  • PULSE
  • LUNGS
  • STOMACH
  • KIDNEY
  • ORGAN
  • BRAIN
  • NERVE
  • TONGUE

16 of 24 words from the Human Body Key Terms list.

Tap or click the first letter of a word, then its last letter. Or drag across the word. On a touch screen, hold the first letter for a moment before you drag. On a keyboard, the arrow keys move, Enter marks the first and the last letter, and Escape clears a first letter.

Easy: words go across and down.

More options

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Human Body Word Search

RBLOODSKELETONS
LRKHWNEHWHCNTEN
NAHTISSUEADENRM
EITOQIKMUSCLEVE
XNPWHOUARTERYEO
DSFEHRLMFKTSALI
NSVDSGLTONGUERR
JRELXAESBXLWVIU
OOAASNDSTOMACHA
IALUNGSFWTWGNDA
NGYRURFNFIRFVWT
TPULSERYEYEMEIR
SNKIDNEYHQKFIIF
DSCSSTLVJGBTNIW
TDERSEISNSAIIZE

SKELETON, SKULL, JOINT, MUSCLE, TISSUE, BLOOD, ARTERY, VEIN, PULSE, LUNGS, STOMACH, KIDNEY, ORGAN, BRAIN, NERVE, TONGUE

Next step Build a puzzle from your own body systems word listScramble the same human body words

All 133 words

Skeleton and Joints 25

  • Ball and socket The kind of joint at the hip and shoulder, where a rounded head turns inside a cup.
  • Bone Hard living tissue of the skeleton. A newborn has about 270 pieces and an adult about 206.
  • Cartilage Smooth, springy tissue that pads the ends of bones and shapes the nose and outer ear.
  • Clavicle The collarbone, which runs between the breastbone and the shoulder blade.
  • Femur The thigh bone, the human body's longest bone.
  • Fibula The slender calf bone that runs beside the shinbone.
  • Humerus The long bone of the upper arm, running from shoulder to elbow.
  • Joint A place where two bones meet, such as the elbow, the hip or the knee.
  • Ligament A tough band of tissue that ties one bone to another at a joint.
  • Mandible The lower jaw, which holds the bottom teeth. Its name comes from the Latin for chewing.
  • Marrow The soft tissue inside bones where new blood cells are made.
  • Patella The kneecap, a flat, rounded bone that meets the thigh bone at the knee.
  • Pelvis The basin of bone at the hips that connects the backbone to the legs.
Show all 133 words (120 more)

Skeleton and Joints, continued

  • Phalanges The bones of the fingers and toes. Each hand and each foot has 14, making 56 in all.
  • Radius The forearm bone that ends at the thumb side of the wrist.
  • Ribs Twelve pairs of curved bones that form a cage around the heart and lungs.
  • Scapula The shoulder blade, which links the upper arm bone to the collarbone.
  • Skeleton The frame of about 206 bones that holds an adult body up and guards its organs.
  • Skull The 22 bones of the head, which protect the brain and shape the face.
  • Spine The column of 33 vertebrae down the middle of the back, also called the backbone.
  • Stapes The body's smallest bone, shaped like a stirrup, in the middle ear.
  • Sternum The breastbone, a flat bone in the middle of the chest, joined to the ribs by cartilage.
  • Tibia The shinbone, the larger and stronger of the two bones below the knee.
  • Ulna The longer, thinner forearm bone, on the same side as the little finger.
  • Vertebrae The bones of the backbone. A person normally has 33, and the upper 24 stay separate.

Muscles and Movement 21

  • Achilles The Greek hero whose name was given to the thickest tendon in the body, at the heel.
  • Biceps The upper arm muscle at the front, which bends the elbow.
  • Calf The fleshy back part of the lower leg, below the knee.
  • Cardiac Describes the muscle of the heart wall, which works without your deciding to move it.
  • Contract To shorten and tighten, which is how a muscle pulls.
  • Deltoid The rounded shoulder muscle, named for the triangle-shaped Greek letter delta.
  • Fiber One long, thin muscle cell. Bundles of them make up a whole muscle.
  • Flex To bend a joint, as the biceps does to the elbow.
  • Gluteus maximus The largest muscle you have, in the buttock. It straightens the hip.
  • Hamstring Any of the three muscles at the back of the thigh.
  • Muscle Tissue that shortens to pull on a bone or squeeze an organ. The body has three kinds.
  • Pectoral Describes the chest. The thick, fan-shaped muscle there makes up most of its bulk.
  • Quadriceps A set of four thigh muscles at the front that straighten the knee.
  • Relax To loosen and lengthen again after tightening.
  • Sartorius The longest muscle you have, a narrow strap that crosses the front of the thigh.
  • Smooth Describes the muscle in the walls of the stomach, the intestines and the blood vessels.
  • Tendon A tough cord of tissue that fastens a muscle to a bone.
  • Tissue A group of similar cells that do one job together, as in muscle or bone.
  • Trapezius A large muscle on each side of the upper back, running from the skull's base to the shoulder blade.
  • Triceps The upper arm muscle at the back, which straightens the elbow.
  • Voluntary Under your control. Skeletal muscles are this kind: they move when you decide.

Heart and Blood 20

  • Aorta The body's largest artery. It leaves the heart from the left ventricle.
  • Artery A vessel that takes blood from the heart out to the body.
  • Atrium Either of the two top chambers of the heart.
  • Blood The red fluid that carries oxygen and nutrients. It makes up about 7% of body weight.
  • Capillary The smallest kind of blood vessel, linking the tiniest arteries to the tiniest veins.
  • Cell The basic unit of living things. In blood, red ones carry oxygen and white ones defend the body.
  • Chamber One of the four hollow spaces inside the heart: two atria above two ventricles.
  • Circulatory Describes the body system made up of the heart and the blood vessels.
  • Clot A plug of thickened blood that seals a cut vessel.
  • Heart The muscular organ, about the size of a closed fist, that pumps blood around the body.
  • Hemoglobin The iron-containing protein in red blood cells that binds oxygen.
  • Plasma The liquid part of blood, about 55% of its volume, which carries the blood cells along.
  • Platelet A tiny cell fragment in the blood that helps a clot to form.
  • Pulse The throb of blood in an artery, which you can feel at the wrist or the neck.
  • Septum The wall that divides the heart's left side from the right.
  • Valve A one-way flap that stops blood from flowing backward. The heart has four.
  • Vein A vessel that carries blood back toward the heart.
  • Vena cava Either of the two large veins that return oxygen-poor blood to the heart.
  • Ventricle One of the two lower chambers of the heart.
  • Vessel A tube that carries blood. Arteries, veins and capillaries are the main kinds.

Lungs and Breathing 20

  • Alveoli Millions of tiny air sacs in the lungs where oxygen passes into the blood.
  • Breathing Taking air into the lungs and letting it out, to bring in oxygen and clear carbon dioxide.
  • Bronchi The two main airways that branch from the trachea, one into each lung.
  • Carbon dioxide The waste gas that blood carries to the lungs to be breathed out.
  • Chest The upper trunk, from neck to belly, where the ribs shield the heart and lungs.
  • Diaphragm The dome of muscle under the lungs that separates the chest from the abdomen.
  • Epiglottis A flap that folds over the top of the windpipe when you swallow, to keep food out.
  • Exhale To breathe out, sending carbon dioxide away.
  • Inhale To breathe in, drawing air and its oxygen into the lungs.
  • Larynx The voice box, sitting on top of the trachea. It holds the vocal cords.
  • Lobe A section of a lung. The right lung has three and the left has two.
  • Lungs The pair of organs in the chest that pass oxygen from the air into the blood.
  • Mucus A slippery gel lining the airways. It helps to trap and remove particles you breathe in.
  • Nose The respiratory system's first organ, and the main organ of smell.
  • Nostril One of the two openings of the nose.
  • Oxygen The gas in air that the body needs. Blood picks it up in the lungs.
  • Respiratory Describes the body system of airways and lungs.
  • Trachea The windpipe: a tube stiffened by rings of cartilage, leading from the voice box toward the lungs.
  • Vocal cords Two folds in the larynx that open for breathing and vibrate to make the voice.
  • Windpipe The everyday name for the trachea.

Digestion and Kidneys 23

  • Appendix A narrow, finger-like tube with a closed end, joined to the start of the large intestine.
  • Bile The fluid made in the liver and kept in the gallbladder. It helps digest fats.
  • Bladder A stretchy bag low in the belly that holds urine until you go to the toilet.
  • Chew To crush and grind food between the teeth, the first step of digestion.
  • Colon The large intestine's longest part.
  • Digestive Describes the body system that breaks food into nutrients the body can absorb.
  • Enamel The outer coat of a tooth, the human body's hardest substance.
  • Enzyme A protein that speeds up a chemical reaction, such as the breakdown of food.
  • Esophagus The tube that carries swallowed food from the throat down to the stomach.
  • Kidney One of two bean-shaped organs that filter the blood and make urine.
  • Large intestine The final stretch of the gut, which takes water and salts back into the body.
  • Liver The largest organ inside the body. It makes bile.
  • Mouth Where the food canal begins. It takes food in and makes saliva.
  • Nutrient A substance in food that the body uses to live and grow.
  • Organ A body part built from tissues that share one job, such as the liver or the heart.
  • Pancreas The gland behind the stomach that makes insulin and a juice full of enzymes.
  • Saliva The watery liquid in the mouth. Its enzymes begin digestion before you swallow.
  • Small intestine The long, narrow tube after the stomach where most nutrients are absorbed.
  • Stomach The muscular organ that breaks food down with enzymes and acid.
  • Swallow To pass food from the mouth down the throat.
  • Teeth The hard parts in the jaws that cut, tear and crush food. A full adult set has 32.
  • Ureter A tube that carries urine from a kidney to the bladder.
  • Villi Tiny finger-like bumps lining the small intestine. They add surface for absorbing food.

Brain, Nerves and Senses 24

  • Brain The control center inside the skull, the main organ of the nervous system.
  • Cerebellum The part of the brain whose Latin name means little brain. It fine-tunes movement and timing.
  • Cerebrum The biggest part of the brain, split into a left half and a right half.
  • Cochlea The snail-shaped coil deep in the ear that turns vibrations into nerve signals.
  • Cornea The clear front layer of the eye, which covers the iris and the pupil.
  • Eardrum A thin skin stretched tight at the end of the hearing canal. Sound makes it vibrate.
  • Epidermis The skin's outermost layer.
  • Hearing The sense that detects sound as vibrations reaching the ears.
  • Hemisphere One of the two halves, left and right, of the cerebrum.
  • Iris The colored ring of the eye, which changes the size of the pupil.
  • Nerve A cable-like bundle of fibers that carries signals between the brain and the body.
  • Neuron A nerve cell, which passes electrical signals to other cells.
  • Pupil The dark opening in the middle of the iris, where light enters the eye.
  • Reflex A nearly instant response that you do not decide to make, such as the knee jerk.
  • Retina The light-sensitive layer lining the back of the eye.
  • Senses Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch: the ways the body gathers news of the world.
  • Sight The sense that detects light through the eyes and builds a picture of the surroundings.
  • Signal A message passed along a nerve.
  • Skin The outer covering of the body, and the largest organ of the human body.
  • Smell The sense that detects chemicals in the air through the nose.
  • Spinal cord The long, thin tube of nervous tissue that runs down inside the backbone.
  • Taste The sense that tells sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory apart.
  • Tongue A muscle-packed organ, the main organ of taste. Taste buds cover its top.
  • Touch The sense felt through the skin, such as pressure, warmth and cold.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. The facts in the clues were checked on 2026-09-19 against Wikipedia, among them the articles on the human body (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_body), the skeleton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeleton) and the heart (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart). A vocabulary list for class, not medical advice. Some clues were reworded on 2026-09-20, and any fact that changed was checked against Wikipedia the same day. Licence: own work

How it works

This human body word search puzzle opens on 16 of 24 key terms, Heart, Lungs and Skeleton among them. Six more lists follow the body systems, and an easy and a hard list bring the total to 133 words.

Read the full guide

One list for each body system

In the Start from a list row, under the puzzle, six lists follow the systems: Skeleton and Joints (25 words), Muscles and Movement (21), Heart and Blood (20), Lungs and Breathing (20), Digestion and Kidneys (23) and Brain, Nerves and Senses (24). Pick one and the grid holds only that system, such as Femur and Patella.

A body parts word search for younger pupils

Easy Human Body works as a body parts word search: 42 words of 4 to 5 letters, such as Skull, Heart, Lungs and Teeth. Take words off the list until 8 are left and, in More options, tick Large print. Everyday limb names such as arm and knee are not in the list: type them at the end of the word list under the grid.

  • Small intestine, Spinal cord and 6 more two-word entries hide closed up: SMALLINTESTINE. Key terms are single words.
  • Gluteus maximus needs 14 squares. While it is listed, the 15 by 15 grid holds it.
  • Record holders in the clues: Femur is the longest bone, Stapes the smallest, Enamel the hardest substance in the body.

Questions and answers

Are there anatomy word search puzzles for older students?

Yes. Start from Hard Human Body and press Hard: its 28 words of 9 to 14 letters, Cerebellum and Hemoglobin among them, can run in any of 8 directions. The grid grows by itself when a long word needs room.

Is this anatomy vocabulary or health advice?

Anatomy vocabulary only: names of body parts and what each does, with no medical advice. Clinic and hospital words are a different list, the medical word search.

Is the human body word search free to print?

Yes, with no sign-up. It prints on 2 pages, Letter or A4: the puzzle under a Name and Date line, then the answer key for that grid.

How can pupils learn what each part does?

Tick Show clues, not words, in More options. Cochlea then reads "The snail-shaped coil deep in the ear that turns vibrations into nerve signals."

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