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THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

Examples of animals with endoskeleton are

Specific Objectives humans, birds, fish, snakes, etc.
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
 Describe the structure and functions of the
mammalian skeleton. Exoskeleton: This type of skeleton is
found outside the bodies of invertebrates
(animals without backbones). Examples of
animals with exoskeleton are shrimp,
insects, prawn, crab, etc.
INTRODUCTION - THE
MAMMALIAN SKELETON STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
OF THE MAMMALIAN SKELETON
A skeleton is a large interconnected bones
that supports and protects the body of The human skeleton is divided into two
living organisms. distinct parts – the axial skeleton and the
appendicular skeleton.
The skeleton supports the soft tissues and
provides leverage for movement. An adult The axial skeleton
man has about 206 bones in the body as This consists of bones that form the axis of
opposed to 275 in a child. the body and support and protect the
organs of the head, neck, and trunk.
Types of skeletons Examples are:
There are two types of skeletons, namely,
endoskeleton and exoskeleton. The Skull: The skull is the skeleton which
is on top of the vertebral column in all
Endoskeleton: This is the type of vertebrates. The skull encases and protects
skeleton found within the bodies of the brain and provides attachment for the
vertebrate (animals with backbones).

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muscles of the face and mouth.

The Sternum: Also known as the

breastbone, the sternum is a rigid structure
which is found at the front of the chest to
form the thoracic cage with the ribs

The Ribs: the ribs are long, slender bones

attached to the backbone that curve around
the chest cavity, or thorax. Ribs occur in
pairs and are found in almost all
vertebrates, or animals with backbones.

The Vertebral Column: Also called

spinal column or backbone, the vertebral Fig. 5.7: The vertebral column of man
column is the structure of bone or cartilage
surrounding and protecting the spinal cord Types of vertebrae
in vertebrate There are five major vertebrae in
The spinal column forms the major part of mammals:
the skeleton. To it are attached the skull,  Cervical vertebrae: found around the
shoulder bones, ribs, and pelvis. The neck area
vertebral column consists approximately of  Thoracic vertebrae: found around the
thirty-three bones called vertebrae. chest area.
Between each pair of vertebrae is a disk-  Sacral vertebrae: found around the
shaped pad of fibrous cartilage with a jelly- lower abdomen
like core, which is called the intervertebral  Caudal vertebrae: found around the
disk. tail area.
Each pair of vertebrae is connected by a  Lumber vertebrae: found around the
joint which stabilizes the vertebral column thoracic cavity.
and allows it to move. These disks cushion
the vertebrae during movement. The entire The appendicular skeleton
spine encloses and protects the spinal cord, This is composed of bones that anchor the
which is a column of nerve tracts running appendages to the axial skeleton. Examples
from every area of the body to the brain. are: the shoulder girdle and the pelvic
girdle. (The sacrum and coccyx are
considered part of the vertebral column)

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 (examples humerus, tibia, femur, ulna,
metacarpals, etc.) are of this type.

Short bones: These bones are short, cube-

shaped, and found in the wrists and ankles.

Flat bones: These bones have broad

surfaces for protection of organs and
attachment of muscles (examples are ribs,
cranial bones, bones of shoulder girdle).

Irregular bones: These are all other bones

that do not fall into the above categories.
They have varied shapes, sizes and
surfaces features and include the bones of
the vertebrae and a few bones in the skull.

Bone composition
Bones are composed of tissue that may
take one or two forms. Compact or dense
bone, and spongy or cancellous bone. Most
bones contain both types.
Compact bone is dense, hard, and forms
the protective exterior portion of all bones.

Spongy bone is inside the compact bone

Fig. 5.8 :Superior view of the vertebrae and is very porous (full of tiny holes).
Spongy bone occurs in most bones. The
TYPES OF BONES bone tissue is composed of several types of
bone cells embedded in a web of inorganic
The bones of the body fall into four general salts (mostly calcium and phosphorus) to
categories: long bones, short bones, flat give the bone strength, and collagenous
bones, and irregular bones. fibres and ground substance to give the
Long bones: these bones are longer than bone flexibility
they are wide and work as levers. The
bones of the upper and lower extremities

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Structure of human skeleton  It provides attachment for the
muscles of the face and mouth.

Scapula (the shoulder blade)

A flat, triangular bone that lies over the
back of the upper ribs.
Functions:
 It serves as an attachment for some of
the muscles and tendons of the arm,
neck, chest and back and
 It aids in the movements of the arm
and shoulder.

Spine, vertebra and disk

The spine is a column of bone and
cartilage that extends from the base of the
skull to the pelvis.
Functions:
 It encloses and protects the spinal cord.
 It supports the trunk of the body and
the head.

The sacrum
The sacrum, at the base of the vertebral
column, is wedged between the coaxial
bones of the pelvis and is attached to them
by fibro-cartilage at the sacroiliac joints.
Fig. 5.9: Structure of the human skeleton Function:
 The weight of the body is transmitted
Skull to the legs through the pelvic girdle at
The skull is the bony framework of the the sacrum.
head. It is comprised of the eight cranial
and fourteen facial bones. Sternum (breastbone)
Functions: A long, narrow, flat plate that forms the
 It encases the brain centre of the front of the chest.
 It protects the brain
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Tarsal bone The ribs

The foot consists of an ankle, an instep, and Ribs are flat, curved bones that form the
five toes. The ankle is composed of seven framework of the chest and make up a cage
tarsal bones, forming a group called the to protect the heart, lungs and other upper
tarsus. organs. There are twelve pairs of ribs, each
Function: joined at the back of the cage to a vertebra
 It helps to support the weight of the in the spine. There are seven true ribs
body and provides an attachment for attached to the sternum (breastbone)
muscles that move the foot. directly by their costal cartilages. The
remaining five pairs are called false ribs,
Carpal bones because their cartilages do not reach the
The skeleton of the wrist consists of eight sternum directly. Instead, the cartilages of
small carpal bones that are firmly bound in the upper three false ribs join the cartilages
two rows of four bones each. . attached to the ribs above, while the last rib
pairs have no cartilaginous attachments to
Clavicle the sternum at all. These last two pairs are
The clavicle is the collarbone. There are sometimes called floating ribs.
two of these bones, each curved a little like Functions:
an "f," that joins the top of the breastbone  Protect some vital organs such as the
(sternum) to the shoulder blade (scapula). heart and lungs
The clavicles support the arms and transmit  Aids in breathing
force from the arms into the central
skeleton. Phalanges
The phalanges are the small bones that
The coccyx make up the skeleton of the fingers, thumb
The coccyx (or tail) is the lowest part of and toes. Each finger and smaller toe has
the vertebral column and is attached by three phalanges; the thumb and big toe
ligaments to the margins of the sacral each have two. The phalange nearest the
hiatus. body of the hand or foot is call the
When a person is sitting, pressure is proximal phalange; the one at the end of
exerted on the coccyx, and it moves each digit is the distal phalange; and when
forward, acting like a shock absorber. there are three, the middle one is called the
(Sitting down with too great a force may middle phalange.
cause the coccyx to be fractured or
dislocated).

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Femur Pelvis (or Os Coxa)

The femur is the thigh bone, the longest The pelvis is a ring of bones in the lower
bone in the body. It lowers into a ball (or trunk of the body, which is bounded by the
head of the femur) that fits into a socket in coccyx (tail bone) and the hip bones.
the pelvis to form the hip joint. The pelvis protects abdominal organs such
as the bladder, rectum and, in women, the
Fibula uterus.
The fibula is the outer and thinner of the
two long bones of the lower leg. It is much Tibia
narrower than the other bone (the shin), to The tibia is the inner and thicker of the two
which it runs parallel and to which it is long bones in the lower leg. It is also called
attached at both ends by ligaments. The the shin bone.
upper end of the fibula does not reach the The tibia is the supporting bone of the
knee, but the lower end descends below the lower leg and runs parallel to the other,
shin and forms part of the ankle. Its main smaller bone (the fibula) to which it is
function is to provide attachment for attached by ligaments.
muscles. It doesn't give much support or
strength to the leg, which explains why the Functions of the skeleton
bone can safely be used for grafting onto 1. It gives shape to the body
other bones in the body. 2. It protects the internal organs of the
body
Humerus 3. It aids in movement.
The humerus is the bone of the upper arm. 4. The ribs aid in breathing.
The smooth, dome-shaped head of the bone 5. The skeleton provides points of
lies at an angle to the shaft and fits into a attachment for the muscles.
shallow socket of the scapula (shoulder 6. Red blood cells are produced in the
blade) to form the shoulder joint. Below bone marrow.
the head, the bone narrows to form a 7. The skeleton gives support to the body.
cylindrical shaft. It flattens and widens at
the lower end and, at its base, it joins with Ligaments
the bones of the lower arm (the ulna and A ligament is a band of tissues that
radius) to make up the elbow. connect bones or cartilages.
Ligaments are tough, fibrous, slightly
elastic tissue and white which in colour,.

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Ligaments, especially those in the ankle i. movable joints and

joint and knee, are sometimes damaged by ii. immovable joints.
injury. A torn ligament usually results from
twisting stress when the knee is turned Movable joints
while weight is on that particular leg. Movable joints allow movement of parts of
Minor sprains are treated with ice, the body. They consist of an external layer
bandages and sometimes physical therapy, of fibrous cartilage giving rise to strong
but if the ligament is torn, the joint may be ligaments that support the separate bones.
placed in a plaster cast to allow time to The bones of movable joints are covered
heal or it may require surgical repairs. If a with smooth cartilage and are lubricated by
ligament is made up of several thick bands a thick fluid, called synovial fluid,
of fibrous branches, it is called a collateral produced between the bones in
ligament. membranous sacs, known as bursae.
Examples of ligaments in a body are: Bursitis, or inflammation of the bursae, is a
 Intertransverse Ligaments, common painful condition of movable
 Interclavicular Ligaments, joints.
 Fibular Collateral Ligament,
 Ligaments of The Foot, etc. Types of movable joints
Ball and socket joint
Functions of the ligament This is made up of a bone with a round end
1. It binds the bone ends together to which fits into another with a hollow end.
prevent dislocation and excessive This joint allows movement in more than
movement that might cause breakage. one area. Examples are the shoulder joint
2. Ligaments also support many internal and the hip joint.
organs; including the uterus, the
bladder, the liver, and the diaphragm
3. It helps in shaping and supporting the
breasts.

JOINTS
JOINTS
Joints are areas where bones or cartilages
in the skeleton meet.
There are two main types of joints in the
skeleton: Fig. 6.0: Shoulder joint

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Hinge joint
This joint allows movement in only one TEST QUESTIONS
JOINTS
area. Examples are the elbow joint and the
knee joint. 1. What is a skeleton?

2. Enumerate five functions of the

mammalian skeleton.

3. What is a joint?

4. Mention three types of movable joints

and give one example each.

Fig. 6.1: Knee joint 5. The following are some parts of the
mammalian skeleton. Place them in
. the table below as axial or
Gliding joint appendicular skeleton.
This joint allows slide movement of bones  Skull
over each other  Ribs
 Pelvic girdle
 Sternum
 Arm
 Leg
 Shoulder girdle

Axial skeleton Appendicular skeleton

Fig. 6.2: Gliding joint

Immovable/ fixed joints

Immovable joints are held together by
actual intergrowth of bone or by strong
fibrous cartilage; this prevent movement at
all areas. Examples are the pelvic girdle
and the suture (joint in the skull).

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