An Overview of the Human Skeleton

Gordonator SG

Idea The Skeletal System

The average human adult skeleton has 206 bones joined to ligaments and tendons to form a protective and supportive framework for the attached muscles and the soft tissues which underlie it.

The skeleton has two main parts: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton.

The axial skeleton includes 80 bones and is made of bones of the skull, the chest, and the spine. The bones of the axial skeleton protect the body's vital organs, the brain, spinal cord, heart, and lungs.

The appendicular skeleton includes two limb girdles (the shoulders and pelvis) and their attached limb bones. This part of the skeletal system contains 126 bones, 64 in the shoulders and upper limbs and 62 in the pelvis and lower limbs.

There are only minor differences between the skeletons of the male and the female: the men's bones tend to be larger and heavier than women's bones and the women's pelvic cavity (hip section )is wider to accommodate childbirth.

The skeleton plays an important part in movement by providing a series of independently movable levers, which the muscles can pull to move different parts of the body. It also supports and protects the internal body organs. The skeleton is not just a movable frame, however; it is an efficient factory which produces red blood cells from the bone marrow of certain bones and white cells from the marrow of other bones to destroy harmful bacteria.

The bones are also a storehouse for minerals - calcium, for example - which can be supplied to other parts of the body. Babies are born with 270 soft bones - about 64 more than an adult; and many of these will fuse together by the age of twenty or twenty-five into the 206 hard, permanent bones.

Gordonator SG

Ligaments

A ligament is a tough band of white, fibrous, slightly elastic tissue. This is an essential part of the skeletal joints; binding the bone ends together to prevent dislocation and excessive movement that might cause breakage.

Ligaments also support many internal organs; including the uterus, the bladder, the liver, and the diaphragm and helps in shaping and supporting the breasts. Ligaments, especially those in the ankle joint and knee, are sometimes damaged by injury.

A "torn" ligament usually results from twisting stress when the knee is turned while weight is on that particular leg. Minor sprains are treated with ice, bandages and sometimes physical therapy, but if the ligament is torn, the joint may be placed in a plaster cast to allow time to heal or it may require surgical repairs.

If a ligament is made up of several thick bands of fibrous branches, it is called a "collateral ligament." The word "ligament" comes from the Latin word, "ligamentum," meaning a band or tie.

Gordonator SG

Idea Do you know?

Both sexes have an equal number of ribs, 24 to be exact.

About every seven years, your body replaces the equivalent of an entirely new skeleton.

The jawbone is the hardest bone in your body.

The biggest, strongest and heaviest bones in your body are the thighbones as they must support the body.

The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes or stirrup bone located in the middle ear.

The skeleton makes up about 20 per cent of the weight of your body.

kaka_22 SG

About every seven years, your body replaces the equivalent of an entirely new skeleton.

It means mine change 3 times already..... Very Happy