clavicle

The collar bone of many vertebrates. In humans it is vulnerable to fracture, since falls involving a sudden force on the arm may result in very high stresses passing into the chest region by way of the clavicle and other bones. It is connected at one end with the sternum (breastbone), and at the other end with the shoulder-blade, together with which it forms the arm socket. The wishbone of a chicken is composed of its two fused clavicles.