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    The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition
    The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition
    The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition
    Ebook165 pages1 hour

    The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition

    By Diana Gitig and Gregory Stewart

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    About this ebook

    The skeletal and muscular systems not only allow us to move and stand tall, but they are also involved in protecting the body, allowing it to grow, and performing subconscious activities such as breathing and the beating of the heart. The heart, an organ made of muscle, distributes blood that lets other systems of the body function. These complex systems work together to achieve many essential bodily functions. In The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition, learn how these two systems interact to keep the human body alive and in motion. Packed with full-color photographs and illustrations, this absorbing book provides students with sufficient background information through references, websites, and a bibliography.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChelsea House
    Release dateOct 1, 2021
    ISBN9781646937264
    The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition

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      Book preview

      The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition - Diana Gitig

      title

      The Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Third Edition

      Copyright © 2021 by Infobase

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact:

      Chelsea House

      An imprint of Infobase

      132 West 31st Street

      New York NY 10001

      ISBN 978-1-64693-726-4

      You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web

      at http://www.infobase.com

      Contents

      Chapters

      The Skeletal and Muscular Systems

      Bones and Other Skeletal Components

      The Axial Skeleton

      The Appendicular Skeleton

      Joints and Soft Tissues of the Skeleton

      Bone Growth and Repair

      Muscles, Muscle Cells, and Muscle Tissues

      Skeletal Muscles

      Support Materials

      Glossary

      Bibliography

      Further Resources

      About the Authors

      Index

      Chapters

      The Skeletal and Muscular Systems

      Anyone who has ever observed a strongman competition in which the competitors perform feats of strength such as balancing a metal beam across their knees and supporting thousands of pounds of weight on their lower legs has probably marveled at what seems like an impossible feat. Similarly, anyone who has been to the ballet might watch in awe as dancers appear to defy gravity as they leap and spin. Our skeletomuscular system—all of our body's bones and muscles—is responsible for these acts of strength, power, and grace.

      The secret to the heavy weight-balancing act is not extra muscle in the competitors' bodies, but the incredible strength of the bones of the legs. By balancing the weight directly over the long line of the lower leg bones and not moving it once it's in place, the strongman or strongwoman can support weights many times greater than his or her own weight. This ability to support extraordinary weight is an important feature of many of the bones of the body. The secret to the dancers who appear to defy gravity lies in the incredible strength of their leg muscles. The dancers have strengthened and trained their leg muscles to propel themselves high off the stage and to complete graceful turns and twists before landing. These are dramatic examples of the power and precision of the skeletomuscular system; but the everyday movements that our bones and muscles allow each of us to perform are no less amazing. As you read through this book, you will discover the importance of our skeleton and muscles and how these combined systems contribute to our daily function.

      The Skeletal and Muscular Systems Work Together

      Although bones and muscles each have other important functions, their main job is to work together to move the parts of the body. Muscle is the only tissue that has the ability to contract, or shorten, so all body movements involve muscle of some kind. The kind of muscle that works with the bones of the skeletal system is called skeletal muscle, and unlike the other kinds of muscle—cardiac muscle, in the heart, and smooth muscle, which lines our blood vessels and digestive tract—it is under voluntary control: we can make it contract at will.

      Muscle can contract, but unless it has something to pull against, it cannot move a body part. Both ends of skeletal muscles are attached to bones. By contracting between two bones, the muscles change the position of those bones relative to each other and thereby cause the body to move. Generally, one bone remains basically stationary while the other moves. In the figure below, when the biceps muscle contracts, the lower arm is pulled upward while the upper arm remains stationary.

      Skeletal muscles must work in opposing pairs for normal body function. As you will see in later chapters, skeletal muscles work only by pulling on bones. They cannot push on bones. As a result, skeletal muscles must work in pairs to provide a full range of motion for a particular bone or joint, a point where two bones come together. So while contraction of the biceps moves the lower arm up, when the biceps relaxes, another muscle must contract to pull the lower arm down (Try it!). Together the two muscles are an opposing pair, moving the lower arm in two directions.

      An elbow joint is depicted in this figure. When the biceps muscle contracts, or shortens, it pulls on the radius of the forearm, which flexes the arm at the elbow.

      Source: Infobase Learning.

      Bones and Other Skeletal Components

      The human skeleton is located inside of our bodies, and is called an endoskeleton. Other animals, such as insects and crustaceans (shellfish), have an exoskeleton—a rigid, tough, outer protective layer that covers their soft tissues. Exoskeletons are only found in some invertebrates, and they provide strength and a degree of movement, but they have their limitations. For one thing, the growth of the animal is restricted and happens in phases. After a certain amount of growth, the exoskeleton becomes constrictive and the organism must molt, or shed, its exoskeleton in order to become larger (see figure below). During the molting phase, these animals are particularly vulnerable to damage and to predators. Ultimately, animals with exoskeletons are limited in size, so there are no animals with exoskeletons among the largest animals on Earth or in its waters. However, not all organisms even have skeletons. Bacteria, protozoa, and fungi are mostly microscopic single-celled organisms. Although there are structures within their cells that serve some of the functions of skeletons, these organisms do not have skeletons in the same sense as animals. As organisms become more complex and increase in size, they develop the need for a skeleton of some type.

      Insects including cicadas are encased in a hard shell, or exoskeleton. As the insect grows, this exoskeleton becomes so confining that it must be shed. A new, larger exoskeleton forms after the old one is completely shed.

      Source: Basile Morin. CC BY-SA 4.0Wikimedia. 2020.

      Composition of Bone Tissue

      Bone contains both organic and inorganic substances. The organic parts of bone include living cells calledosteoblasts and osteoclasts; ground substance, which consists of glycoproteins (proteins modified with sugars) and proteoglycans (sugars modified with amino acids); and collagen. The remainder of bone is composed of inorganic salts, mainly calcium phosphate. The organic components, particularly the collagen, account for the resilience of bone, specifically its ability to resist breaking when stressed. The inorganic components account for its hardness.

      Bone is a dynamic structure that is constantly changing. Osteoblasts are cells that build new bone tissue, while osteoclasts are cells that break down bone. This allows bone to grow, heal, and adapt to changing conditions.

      Structure of Bones

      At first glance, a bone appears to be a solid structure, like a rock. However, living bone is actually a complex network of channels and solid sections (see figure below). A thin section of bone examined under the microscope shows these channels. Each channel has two parts. The outer portion is a series of concentric rings that form the osteon. The osteon is shaped like a cylinder and runs parallel to the long axis of the bone. The opening in the center of the osteon is called the Haversian canal. Blood vessels and nerves pass through the Haversian canals.

      Although

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