The Skeletal System

Summary: The human skeletal system is made up of bones, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and other tissues. Its functions include structural support, storage of minerals and lipids, blood cell production, protection, and physical leverage. The following overview includes the types of bones humans have, the development of the skeletal system, the effects of age, and the importance of the skeletal system to other systems in the human body. The Skeletal System What is the skeletal system? It is a very important part of your body. Without it you wouldn't be able to do many things, including moving yourself. The skeletal system is made up of bones, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and other tissues. Functions of the Skeletal System The primary functions of the skeletal system are support, storage of minerals and lipids, blood cell production, protection, and leverage. Structural support for the body is provided by the skeletal system. Each bone or group of bones makes up the structure of the body, so that soft tissues and other organs can attach to them. The storage of minerals and lipids is another function of the skeletal system. These things provide energy, and necessary nutrients to the body. The most abundant of the minerals is calcium which strengthens bones. Lipids are stored in yellow bone marrow. Blood Cell production occurs in the red bone marrow, which fills many bones. Red, white, and other elements of the blood are produced in the marrow. The skeletal system also provides protection. It protects many of the vital organs and delicate tissues necessary for the body to function. For example the heart and lungs are protected by the ribs, the skull protects the brain and vertebrae protect the spinal cord. Leverage is the final function of the skeletal system. This function basically provides movement in the body. Many of your bones act as levers. These levers change the direction and the extent of force created by the muscles in your body. These movements can be as small as bending or flexing your small toe to moving your entire body. Types of Bones The mature human body contains about 206 major bones. The bones are organized into six different categories according to their shape. The first and most common are long bones. These bones are long and slim bones. They can be found in many different places including the arm, thigh, legs, fingers, etc. The femur, which is a long bone, can be found in the thighs, and is the biggest bone in the body. It is also the heaviest.

Next are short bones. They are boxlike and are small. They can be found in the wrists and ankles. The third type of bone is the flat bone. The surface of this bone is thin and generally parallel. Examples of these bones are the roof of the skull, the sternum, and the ribs. Their main purpose is to protect soft tissue and vital organs. They also provide a large amount of surface area so that the skeletal muscles may attach themselves to these bones. The fourth type of bone are the irregular bones. These bones are oddly shaped and have short, flat, or rough surfaces. Examples of these bones are vertebrae and a number of bones in the skull. Next are the sesamoid bones. These bones are known for their resemblance to a sesame seed (hence the name sesamoid). They are relatively small and flat, and form most commonly near joints in the knees, hands, and feet. The patella, also known as the knee cap, is a perfect example of a sesamoid bone. Not all skeletons have the same sesamoid bones. They have been known to form in at least 26 different areas of the skeleton. The individual determines the number and location of these bones. Finally there are the sutural bones. These bones are also known as Wormian Bones. They are small, flat, irregularly shaped bones that form between the flat bones in the skull. They "suture" all of the flat bones in the skull together. Number, position, and shape of sutural bones vary. Every bone in the body contains two types of osseous tissue, compact and spongy bone. Compact bone (dense bone) is somewhat solid. Spongy bone is more open. It looks just like a piece of Swiss cheese with a number of openings and plates. Compact bone forms a strong protective layer on the surface of the bone. Spongy bone is always located on the inside of the bone. All bones are made of different parts. For example the femur is not as simple as it seems. The femur is a long bone. The long slender shaft is called the diaphysis. At either end of the bone the epiphysis can be found. The area which the two are connected is called the metaphysis. The inside of the diaphysis consists of a layer of compact bone. The hollow area inside the diaphysis is called the marrow cavity (also known as medullary cavity). This area holds either yellow bone marrow, which consists mostly of fat cells, or red bone marrow, which is a mixture of red blood cells, white blood cells, and stem cells. Marrow is a soft connective tissue that either stores energy (yellow marrow) or produces new blood cells (red marrow). Marrow can also be found in the spaces between the struts and plates of the epiphysis. The epiphysis is made up of mostly spongy bone. It is covered by a thin layer of compact bone. That is an example of a Long bone. Another example of how bones are made up of different parts are flat bones, particularly the flat bones from the skull. These bones have spongy bone as the core and the core is surrounded by compact bone. Even though there is no marrow cavity in these bones bone marrow can be found within the spongy

bone. The layers of compact are also known as the internal and external tables, and the spongy bone is known as the diploe. Development of the Skeletal System The development of each individual skeleton depends on how big the person is. When an egg in the mother is fertilized the baby starts out as cartilage. When the embryo is about one-half inch long the skeleton begins to form. As the bones begin to develop, and after the baby is born the bones considerably increase in size. They continue to grow after birth, most dramatically during the teenage years. Some bones can continue to grow until the age of 25. One of the main processes of bone development is called ossification. Ossification literally means the formation of bone. This process occurs when the bone replaces other tissues such as cartilage. Ossification can occur in two forms, intramembranous and endochondral ossification. Intramembranous ossification, or dermal ossification, forms bone from fetal or embryonic connective tissue (also known as mesenchyme). This type of ossification usually occurs in the deep skin layers of the dermis. These bones, as a result, are called dermal bones. Examples of these bones are roof of the skull, the lower jaw, and the collarbone. Dermal bones may form in other areas such as tendons, joints, in the kidneys, or skeletal muscles. These are heterotopic bones because they form in unusual places. Endochondral ossification begins about six weeks after fertilization. The shape of a human has by this time developed, but bone dose not exist yet, only cartilage. Then ossification occurs with bones forming from all the existing carilage. Effects of Age on the Skeletal System As the body gets older it has a large effect on the skeleton. Bones become weaker and thinner. The dramatic deterioration begin to take place between the ages of 30 and 40. Bone mass begins to decline between these ages, especially in women. They begin to lose eight percent of bone mass every decade. Men decline at a much slower rate of three percent a decade. Loss of teeth, height, and extremely fragile arms and legs are all signs of skeletal deterioration. This is called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens the bones and can be quite painful as well. It weakens the bones so much that an elderly person can break a hip or leg by simply standing up. It can immobilize anybody who has it. This disease commonly develops after cancer in the breast, bone marrow, and other soft tissues. These tissues release a chemical that contributes to the weakening of the bones.

Importance in Other Body Systems Many of the other body systems are in some way connected to the skeletal system. Not only does it depend on other systems, other systems depend on it. For example, the muscular system helps move the body by moving the bones that are attached to it. The nervous system controls the muscles which controls where the bones move. The digestive system provides nutrients, calcium, and phosphates to the skeletal system. In return the skeletal system protects the vital organs of the digestive system. The respiratory system provides oxygen to the bones and eliminates carbon dioxide. Once again the skeletal system protects the lungs and moves the ribs which is an important part of breathing. So the skeletal system has many other functions besides the five outlined in this report.