Exercise 6 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

Materials: Pair of fresh Chicken Leg Bone, 10% Nitric Acid, Oven, Beaker Procedures: 1. Obtain a pair of fresh chicken leg bones. Remove the muscles and skin leaving just the periosteum behind. 2. Place one of the bones in the oven for one hour at a temperature of 100 OC. Soak the other bone in 200 ml of nitric acid overnight. 3. Gently apply pressure to each bone sample and observe the results.

Questions: 1. What happens to the heated bone when the pressure was applied? The bone treated with acid? Explain your observations. 2. In rickets, the bones are not properly calcified. Which of the demonstration specimens used in the experiment more closely resembles the bones of the child with rickets? 3. In a living bone, how does mechanical stress affects its strength? Dietary factors?

Regine Marie E. Espaa BS PH III I. Introduction The Skeletal System serves many important functions; it provides the shape and form for our bodies in addition to supporting, protecting, allowing bodily movement, producing blood for the body, and storing minerals. Its 206 bones form a rigid framework to which the softer tissues and organs of the body are attached. Vital organs are protected by the skeletal system. Blood cells are produced by the marrow located in some bones. An average of 2.6 million red blood cells is produced each second by the bone marrow to replace those worn out and destroyed by the liver. Bones serve as a storage area for minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. When an excess is present in the blood, buildup will occur within the bones. When the supply of these minerals within the blood is low, it will be withdrawn from the bones to replenish the supply. (Philip s Science and Technology Encyclopedia. 1998) Bones are composed of tissue that may take one of 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 and is very porous (full of tiny holes). Spongy bone occurs in most bones. The bone tissue is composed of several types of bone cells embedded in a web of inorganic salts (mostly calcium and phosphorus) to give the bone strength, and collagenous fibers and ground substance to give the bone flexibility. (Collier s Encyclopedia. 1984) In the experiment, a pair of fresh leg bone was observed; the other was oven heated and the other was soaked in nitric acid solution. The oven heated bone would be brittle and easily broken by pressure. The bone in nitric acid would be soft and would have a lesser weight. This is because the calcium in the bone would be lessened and this may cause bone diseases.

II. Results and Discussion A. Heated Bone The bone that was burned over a lamp turned black and can be easily broken when subjected to pressure. The heated bone became brittle and dry and when pressure as applied. When heated, the collagen in the bone is destroyed leaving it brittle and easily-broken by application of pressure. The heat applied denatures the collagen triple helix. Not only individual alpha chains are released but also units of twice and thrice with the size of alpha chains consisting of two or three alpha chains joined together by cross-links. Nitric acid breaks down the calcium in bones. Once the calcium is dissolved, there is nothing to keep the bone hard, all that s left is the soft bone tissue.

B. Bone in Acid Solution The bone in acid solution was silghtly bent. It was slightly soft. The bone treated with acid slightly bent after 24 hours of soaking it in the solution. This demonstration specimen closely resembles the bones of the child with rickets. The solution reacted with the calcium compound within the bone thus some calcium ions were removed or lessened. In this case, the bone can be flexible and cannot able to carry body weight. This condition would result to bone diseases like rickets, osteoporosis, osteomalacia.

III. Applications One of the most widely known clinical applications when it comes to bones is calcium deposit/ withdrawal. Like in osteoporosis, loss of calcium would mean deterioration of bone density which leads to frailty of bones which again leads to fracture of bones and posture problems. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder in which bones break easily. The cause is a gene defect that affects how you make collagen, a protein that helps make bones strong. Usually you inherit the faulty gene from a parent. Sometimes, it is due to a mutation, a random gene change. Paget's disease of bone causes your bones to grow larger and weaker than normal. They also might break easily. The disease can lead to other health problems, too, such as arthritis and hearing loss. You can have Paget's disease in any bone, but it is most common in the spine, pelvis, skull and legs. The disease might affect one or several bones, but not your entire skeleton. More men than women have the disease. It is most common in older people.

IV. References Decalcification Solutions for Bone. (2007). Retrieved http://www.ihcworld.com/_protocols/histology/decalcification_solution.htm from

What causes rickets?. (July 18, 2005). Retrieved from http://bone-muscle.healthcares.net/rickets-causes.php Singh, Arun Pal, MD. Collagen in the Bone. (August 2008). Retrieved from http://boneandspine.com/musculoskeletal-anatomy/chemistry-bone/

Bone. (1970). The New Illustrated Medical and Health Encyclopedia. (Volume 1, pp 244251). New York: H.S.. Stuttman Co., Inc.