Clavicle & Mystery
Published on February 3, 2026I woke up wanting to know which bone is the first to ossify in the embryo, inside its mother’s womb.
And what a surprise it was to discover that it is:
the clavicle!
Why? Because, structurally, it holds the frame together—according to what I have read—and because, apparently, in embryonic development the shoulder girdle takes precedence over the hips, since walking would come—developmentally speaking—as a second phase.
Digging a little further, I came across this perspective according to which the clavicle forms the link between the heart and the hand, between sensibility and action.
Now I understand why I have always found this area erogenous.
Out of the 206 bones that make up our bodies, it is this one — the clavicle — that becomes bone first.
It could have been the proximal phalanx of the big toe, or the occipital bone, or they could all have solidified at the same time.
No.
It begins with the clavicle.
Did you know that, etymologically, this word comes from the Latin clavicula, which means: little key.
Our bony solidification, our entry into matter, would thus begin with a key that links the heart with action.
. . .
to the magic that builds us…