![]() ![]() Movement of the Body: Bones work together with muscles as simple mechanical lever systems to produce body movement.Attachment of the Muscles: The skeleton provides attachment surfaces for muscles and tendons which together enable movement of the body.Vertebrae surround and protect the spinal cord and bones of the rib cage help protect the heart and lungs. The fused bones of the cranium surround the brain to make it less vulnerable to injury. Protection of Internal Organs: The skeleton provides a rigid frame work that supports and protects the soft organs of the body.The large bones of the lower limbs support the trunk when standing. Structural Support of the Body: The skeleton supports the body against the pull of gravity.In addition to giving shape and form to the body, bones have many important functions. Your skeletal system is important for the proper functioning of your body. The humerus is joined to the pectoral girdle at a joint and is held in place by muscles and ligaments.įigure 4: Sugar skulls made to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a time (the 1st and 2nd of November) during which the people of Mexico and some Latin American countries celebrate and honor the lives of the deceased, and celebrate the continuation of life. The vertebral column attaches to the top of the pelvis the femur of each leg attaches to the bottom. The pelvic girdle consists of two pelvic bones (hipbones) that form the pelvic girdle. The pectoral girdle consists of the clavicle (collar bone) and scapula (shoulder blade). Limbs are connected to the rest of the skeleton by collections of bones called girdles. There are approximately 126 bones in the appendicular skeleton. The appendicular skeleton includes the bones of the limbs (arms and legs) along with the scapula and the pelvis, and is shown at right in Figure 3. There are 80 bones in the axial skeleton. The axial skeleton includes the bones of the head, vertebral column, ribs and sternum, in the left portion of Figure 3. The bones of the skeleton can be grouped in two divisions: the axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton. As a child grows, these “extra” bones, such as the bones of the skull (cranium), and the sacrum (tailbone) fuse together, and cartilage gradually hardens to become bone tissue. The skeletons of babies and children have many more bones and more cartilage than adults have. Cartilage is the lightgray material that is found between some of the bones and also between the ribcage and sternum. For example, your skull bones (cranium) protect your brain, and your ribcage protects your heart and lungs. Bones act as attachment points for the muscles and tendons that move the body. Ligaments are not very elastic and some even prevent the movement of certain bones.įigure 2: The skeleton is the bone and cartilage scaffolding that supports the body, and allows it to move. A ligament is a band of tough, fibrous tissue that connects bones together. The function of cartilage in the adult skeleton is to provide smooth surfaces for the movement of bones at a joint. ![]() Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue that is made of tough protein fibers. Cartilage, another component of the skeleton can also be seen in Figure 2. The adult human skeleton consists of approximately 206 bones, some of which are named in Figure 2. The sturdy internal framework of bones and cartilage that is found inside vertebrates, including humans, is called an endoskeleton. Invertebrates, like the banana slug in Figure 1, do not have a vertebral column, and use a different mechanism than vertebrates to move about. Humans are vertebrates, which are animals that have a vertebral column, or backbone. Just think of how a bony skeleton would be of limited use to a slug whose lifetime is spent under a log munching on rotting leaf litter. Slugs and other gastropods also live in environments very different to humans’ environments. Slugs move by causing a wave-like motion in their foot, (the ventral (bottom) area of the slug that is in contact with the ground). They can do so because they are relatively small and their food source (vegetation) is plentiful and tends not to run away from them. Figure 1: Banana slugs ( Ariolimax spp.), unlike you, can live just fine without a bony skeleton. ![]()
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