Before we get to the human skeletal system, we should know that there are two different types

of skeleton. We can have an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton.

An endoskeleton is an internal skeleton, such as the bony or cartillaginous skeleton of

vertebraes.

An exoskeleton is a rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrae animals, especially
arthropods, providing both support and protection.

Our skeleton or the endoskeleton is formed by the bones in our body. Bones help to support our
body and protect important organs. Bones also store nutrients and minerals, and they are places
where blood cells are made. Humans have more than 200 bones in theis bodies – all differebt
shapes and sizes. Like other parts of our body, bones keep changing all the time. They are alive
and grow especially when we are young.

The skeletal system also performs vital functions – support, movement, storage, blood cell
production, and endocrine regulation.

Support

The function of our skeletal system is to support us. It also offers protection. And we can’t stand
upright if it weren’t for our endoskeleton and also it protects vital organs like how the skull
protects the brain.

Our skeleton is broken down into two different parts - the axial skeleton and the appendicular
skeleton.

The axial skeleton is the part of the skeleton that consists of the bones of the head and trunk of
a vertebrate. In the human skeleton, it consists of 80 bones and is composed of six parts; the
skull bones, the ossicles of the middle ear, the hyoid bone, the rib cage, sternum and the
vertebral column.

The appendicular skeleton is composed of the bones of the upper limbs, the pectoral girdle, and
the pelvic girdle. The pectoral girdle acts as the point of attachment of the upper limbs to the
body. The upper limb consists of the arm, the forearm, and the wrist and hand.

Movement

Bones allow us to move but they can’t move withoust muscles. So one of the big things required
for a skeletal system are going to be skeletal muscles, they’re not directly attached to the bone
and so they’re going to be attached from muscle to bone with a tendon.

Bone can also be attached to bone with what’s called a ligament. But the function of it is to give
us movement. In order to get movement you need to have a joint between joining bones so you
can actually get movement.

There are five general types of socket – the ball and socket, condyloid, saddle, hinge and pivot
joint; they each give us different movement.

An example of the ball and socket joint is the hip joint, in which a partially spherical end lies in a
socket, allowing multidirectional movement and rotation.

The condyloid joint (also called ellipsodial) is an ovoid articular surface, or condyle that is
received into an elliptical cavity. This permits movement in two planes, allowing flexion,
adduction, abduction, and circumdiction. An example of it is the wristbone.

The saddle joint is a synovial joint where one of the bones forming the joint is shaped like a
saddle with the other bone resting on it like a rider on a horse. Saddle joints provide stability to
the bones while providing more flexibility than a hinge or gliding joint. A great example would be
the thumb.

The hinge joint is a common class of synovial joint that includes the ankle, elbow, and knee
joints. Hinge joints are formed between two or more bones where the bones can only move
along one axis to flex or extend.
The pivot joint is a type of synovial joint. In pivot joints, the axis of a convex articular surface is
parallel with the longitudinal axis of the bone. A great example would be where the humerous
meets the radius and the ulma in the elbow.

(A synovial joint, also known as diarthrosis, joins bones with a fibrous joint capsule that is
continuous with the periosteum of the joined bones, constitutes the outer boundary of a synovial
cavity and surrounds the bones’ articulating surfaces.)

So all these are joints and they allow movement inside the bone.

Storage

Bones are also a site of storage. They serve as reservoir for calcium and phospsorus, eseential
minerals for various cellular activities throughout the body.

Bones are also storage of energy. Lipids such as fats, stored in adipose cells of the yellow
marrow serve as an energy reservoir.

So when we need calcium or other minerals, we can get that from our bones because it is
connected right to the circulatory system.

Blood

Bones are also important in blood. In the marrow, there can be two types – the red marrow, and
the yellow marrow.

Red blood cells, platelets and most white blood cells arise inred marrow, some white blood cells
develop in yellow marrow.

Both types of bone marrow contain numerous blood vessels and capillaries. Therefore, in cases
of severe blood loss, the body can convert yellow marrow back to red marrow in order to
increaase blood cell production.

Note that more than 200 billions of blood cells were made from the bone marrow every day.

Homeostasis

Bones also maintain stabilty in the body by regulating the amount of blood calcium we have.

Bones are reservoirs or “banks” for calcium and phosphorus. This means that if you have too
much calcium or phosphorus in your bloodstream your body will deposit it in your bones to get
rid of it. If you have too little in your bloodstream then your body will suck it out of your bones
to make sure you have enough for use in your heart muscles, nerves, and so forth.

This is why it’s important to supplement calcium when a woman is pregnant so that your bones
don’t weaken as a result of the growing baby’s needs. Way back in the day (and I’m sure also in
some parts of the world today) pregnant women could literally have their teeth fall out from
calcium deficiency.

Calcium and phosphorus are deposited or withrawn together from your bones, which means that
levels of the two minerals tend to rise and fall in your body together. If, for example, you have a
spike in blood calcium (due to increased intake for example) then you could potentially have a
drop in blood phosphorus as your body tried to put the calcium into your bones. And the same
holds vice-versa or if your blood phosphorus goes down for some reason (example is wrong
dialysis settings) then your calcium level might go up as both minerals are withrawn from your
bones to raise the phosphorus level. However your body has other means of adjusting these
mineral levels (renal excretion mainly) so the levels certainly don’t track one another perfectly.

And so that’s the skeletal system. It holds us up, but does a lot more than that as well.
 Republic of the Philippines

`Kinect Academy

The Skeletal System

By Group 2:

Gabriel Angelo Concepcion

Iramay DeGuzman

Michael John Timbol

Edmer Ashley Dela Cruz

John Patrick Dinio