How many vertebrae are there in the adult human body (counting fused bones as in adult anatomy)?

The adult human vertebral column is composed of 33 vertebrae, when counting the individual segments that form the column, including those that fuse. These are typically divided into five regions:

• 7 cervical vertebrae
• 12 thoracic vertebrae
• 5 lumbar vertebrae
• 5 sacral vertebrae (which fuse to form the sacrum)
• 4 coccygeal vertebrae (which fuse to form the coccyx)

While the sacrum and coccyx fuse into single bones in adulthood, they originate from multiple distinct vertebrae, making the total count of individual vertebral segments 33. If counting distinct bones in the adult, the number is 26.