MUSCULOSKELETAL

SYSTEM
ANATOMY AND
PHYSIOLOGY
 FUNCTION
SKELETAL SYSTEM
 Provides a framework for the body and allows
the body to be weight bearing or upright.
 Supports the surrounding tissues
 Assists in movement through muscle
attachment and joint formation.
 Protects vital organs – heart and lungs.
 Manufactures blood cells in red bone marrow
 Provides storage for mineral salts (calcium,
phosphorus)
 FUNCTION
 PRIMARY FUNCITON OF SKELETAL
MUSCLE IS MOVEMENT OF THE BODY
AND ITS PARTS.
 SKELETON

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
 SKELETON
 AXIAL PORTION
 Cranium
 Vertebrae
 Ribs
 APPENDICULAR PORTION
 Limbs
 Shoulders
 Hips
 TYPES OF BONES
 Long
 Short
 Flat
 Irregular
 TYPES OF BONES

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
 SPONGY BONE
 Located in the ends of long bones and the
center of flat and irregular bones
 Can withstand forces applied in many
directions
 DENSE (COMPACT) BONE
 Covers spongy bone
 Cylinder around a central marrow cavity
 Can withstand force predominantly in one
direction
SPONGY BONE AND COMPACT
BONE

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
BONES
 Support and protect structures of the body

 Provide attachments for muscles, tendons, and

ligaments
 Contain tissue in the central cavities which
aids in the formation of blood cells
 Assists in regulating calcium and phosphate
concentrations
 BONE GROWTH
Bone growth is a result of the ossification of
the epiphyseal cartilage.
 Bone growth stops between the ages of 18 and
25 years.
 The width of bone growth is a result of the

activity of osteoblasts.
 Bone growth slow down with the aging

process
 Bone absorption around the bone marrow

continues throughout life.

 Bones become weaker with aging
 TYPES OF JOINTS
 SYNARTHROSIS
 Fibrous or fixed joints
 No movement associated with these joints
 AMPHIARTHROSIS
 Cartilaginous joints
 Slightly movable joints
 TYPES OF JOINTS
 DIARTHROSIS
 Synovial joints
 Ball-and-socket joints
 CONDYLOID
 Freely movable joints
 Allow frictionless, painless movement
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
 THEbetween
Allow the movement JOINTS
bones
 Formed where two bones join
 Surfaces are covered with cartilage
 Enclosed in a capsule
 Contain a cavity filled with synovial fluid
 Ligaments hold the bone and joint in the correct
position
 Articulation is the meeting point of two or more
joints
 SYNOVIAL FLUID
 Found in the joint capsule
 Formed by synovial membrane, which lines
the joint capsule
 Lubricates the cartilage
 Cushion for shocks
 SYNOVIAL JOINT

From Applegate E: The Anatomy and Physiology Learning System, ed. 2, Philadelphia, 2000,
W.B. Saunders.
SYNOVIAL JOINT OF THE
KNEE

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
ANTERIOR VIEW OF MAJOR
MUSCLES

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
 POSTERIOR VIEW OF
MAJOR MUSCLES

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
 SKELETAL MUSCLE

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
MUSCLES
 Made up of bundles of muscle fibers
 Provide the force to move bones
 Assist in maintaining posture
 Assist with heat production
 PROCESS OF
CONTRACTION
 MuscleAND RELAXATION
contraction and relaxation require large
amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
 Contraction also requires calcium, which
functions as a catalyst
 Acetylcholine released by the motor end plate
of the motor neuron initiates an action potential
 Acetylcholine is then destroyed by
acetylcholinesterase
 PROCESS OF
CONTRACTION
AND
 Calcium RELAXATION
is required to contract muscle fibers
and acts as a catalyst for the enzyme needed
for the sliding together action of actin and
myosin
 Following contraction, ATP transports calcium
out, in order to allow actin and myosin to slide
apart and allow the muscle to relax
 SKELETAL MUSCLES
 Are attached to two bones and cross at least one joint
 The point of origin is the point of attachment on the
bone closest to the trunk
 The point of insertion is the point of attachment on the
bone farthest from the trunk
 Skeletal muscles act in groups
 Prime movers contract to produce movement
 Antagonists relax
 Synergists contract to stabilize
 Nerves activate and control the muscles
 ORIGIN OF INSERTION
ANTAGONISTS

From Herlihy, B. & Maebius, N. (2000). The human body in health and illness. Philadelphia:
W.B. Saunders.