Introduction to Skeletal System

Anatomy

Assist. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Al-Talahma

Department of Human Anatomy
School of Medicine
Palestine Polytechnic University
Hebron
2022-2023
 SYSTEMA LOCOMOTORIUM

1) Osteologia (Osteology)

2) Arthrologia (Arthrology)

3) Myologia (Mayology)

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 Introduction
• The framework of bones and cartilage that
protects our organs and allows us to move is
called the skeletal system.
• The branch of medicine that deals with the
preservation and restoration of the skeletal
system, articulations (joints), and associated
structures is called orthopaedics.

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 The Skeletal System
• Parts of the skeletal system include:
– Bones (skeleton)
– Joints
– Cartilages
– Ligaments
• Divided into two divisions:
1. Axial skeleton (skull, ribs and vertebra)
2. Appendicular skeleton (pelvis, extremities)

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 General Function
1. Movement
2. Shape & supporting framework for other
systems
3. Protection
4. Storage & production of minerals & RBCs
5. System of machines for transmission of
forces

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Movement: Skeletal system Muscle attached to bones!!
provides points of
attachment for muscles.

Support: The backbone is the

main support center for the
upper body. It holds the
head up and protects the
spinal cord.

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Protection: skull protects the
brain. Ribs protect the
lungs and heart from
injury.

Makes Blood: Red and white

blood cells are formed by
tissue called marrow,
which is in the center of the
bone.

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Storage: Bones store
minerals, such as
calcium and
phosphorus, for use by
the body

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 Bones of the Human Body
• The adult skeleton has 206 bones (222- 223
children)
• Two basic types of bone tissue
– Compact bone
• Homogeneous
– Spongy bone
• Small needle-like
pieces of bone
• Many open spaces

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Classification of Bones on the Basis
of Shape

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 Long bones

• (e.g. thighs, legs, toes, arms, forearms, and fingers)

• greater length than width
• consist of a shaft and extremities (ends)
• slightly curved for strength
• consist mostly of compact bone (dense bone with
few spaces) but also contain considerable amounts
of spongy bone (bone with large spaces)

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 Short bones (e.g. wrist, ankle bones)

• Somewhat cube-shaped and nearly equal in

length and width
• Spongy except at the surface where there is a
thin layer of compact bone

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 Flat bones (e.g. cranial bones,
sternum, ribs, scapulas)
• Generally thin and composed of two more or
less parallel plates of compact bone enclosing
a layer of spongy bone
• Flat bones afford considerable protection and
provide extensive areas for muscle
attachment

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 Irregular bones (e.g. vertebrae, and
certain facial bones)

• Have complex shapes and cannot be grouped

into any of the other three categories
• They vary in the amount of spongy and
compact bone

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 Sesamoid bones
• Are small bones in tendons where
considerable pressure develops, for instance,
the wrist
• Their number varies greatly from person to
person
• All people have at least two sesamoid bones:
the patella (kneecap)

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 long bone
Gross Anatomy of a Long Bone

flat bone

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 Gross Anatomy
of a Long Bone
• Diaphysis
– Shaft
– Composed of compact
bone
• Epiphysis
– Ends of the bone
– Composed mostly of
spongy bone

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 Structures of a Long Bone
• Periosteum
– Outside covering of the
diaphysis
– Fibrous connective tissue
membrane
• Sharpey’s fibers
– Secure periosteum to
underlying bone
• Arteries
– Supply bone cells with
nutrients

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• Articular cartilage
– Covers the external
surface of the
epiphyses
– Made of hyaline
cartilage
– Decreases friction at
joint surfaces

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• Medullary cavity
– Cavity of the shaft
– Contains yellow marrow
(mostly fat) in adults
– Contains red marrow
(for blood cell
formation) in infants

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 Changes in the Human Skeleton
• In embryos, the skeleton is primarily hyaline
cartilage
• During development, much of this cartilage is
replaced by bone
• Cartilage remains in isolated areas
– Bridge of the nose
– Parts of ribs
– Joints

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Divisions of the Skeletal System

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A) SKELETON AXIALE
1) Cranium
2) Columna vertebralis
3) Skeleton thoracicum

B) SKELETON APPENDICULARE
1) Ossa membri superioris
2) Ossa membri inferioris

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 Skeletal Surface Markings
• The surfaces of bones have various structural
features adapted to specific functions. These
features are called surface markings. Long
bones that bear a great deal of weight have
large, rounded ends that can form sturdy
joints, for example. Other bones have
depressions that receive the rounded ends.

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 Depressions and Openings

Foramen an opening through which blood vessels, nerves,

or ligaments pass

Meatus a tubelike passageway running within a bone

Paranasal sinus an air-filled cavity within a bone connected to the

nasal cavity

Fossa a depression in or on a bone

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 Processes that form Joints

Condyle a large, rounded articular prominence

Head a rounded articular projection supported on the

constricted portion (neck) of a bone

Facet a smooth, flat surface

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Processes to which tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues
attach

Tuberosity a large, rounded, usually roughened process

Spinous process a sharp, slender projection

Trochanter a large, blunt projection found only on the

femur

Crest a prominent border or ridge

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Types of Fractures

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Skull
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 Fonticulus
sphenoidalis

Fonticulus mastoideus
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 Calvaria “Skull Cap” or top of neurocranium

Inferior surface of
calvaria
• Sagittal groove
• Foveolae granulares
• Grooves for branches of
Middle Meningeal Vessels

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Cranial Cavity

The cranial cavity contains:

• Brain and its surrounding meninges
• Portions of the cranial nerves
• Arteries and veins
• Venous sinuses

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Bones that make up the cranial cavity
• Frontal
• Parietal
• Sphenoid
• Temporal
• Occipital bone
• Part the Ethmoid
Note: (all covered by endosteal layer of dura mater)

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Auditory ossicles

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Hyoid bone

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vertebral column

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Vertebral Segments

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Primary Curve

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Secondary Curves Lateral

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Typical Vertebrae

• Body
– Superior and inferior surfaces of body (plateaus)
– Thickened around the rim, location of epiphyseal plates
– Cartilaginous end-plates
• Vertebral Arch
– Pedicles, Laminae
– Transverse Processes
– Spinous Process
– Facets – superior articular and inferior articular
• Spinal Foramen
• Intervertebral Foramen

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Typical Vertebrae

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Sacrum

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The bones of the upper limbs
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Osseous Anatomy

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Humerus

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Radius Ulna

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 Ulna
Radius

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 Ossa digitorum (phalanges)

Ossa metacarpi

Ossa carpi

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The bones of the lower limb

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 Oste/o = Bone
Osteon = bone

Oste/o/pathy: disease of the bones

Oste/itis: inflammation of the bone
Oste/o/malac/ia: softening of the bones
Oste/oma, oste/o/mata: bone tumor

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 Oste/o = Bone
Oste/o/por/osis: deterioration of the bone
matrix causing pores and weakness
Poros = passageway
Oste/o/sarc/oma: bone cancer

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Dys- = difficult or poor, defective, abnormal
Inter- between
Peri- around or near
-plasia = growth, development, or formation
-scope = instrument used to look at…
-plasty = surgical repair or reconstruction

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 Myel/o = Bone Marrow or Spinal Cord
Encephal/o/myel/o/pathy: disease of the brain and
spinal cord
Oste/o/myel/itis: inflammation of the bone and
marrow
Myel/o/dys/plasia: defective formation of the spinal
cord
Myel/o/cyt/ic: pertaining to myelocyte
Myel/o/cele: herniation of the spinal cord
Myel/o/blast: bone marrow germ cell

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 Anatomical Position (AP)
AP is the reference position used to describe the
location of anatomical parts and to describe
and explain human movement.
The subject is:
• standing upright with feet flat on the floor
• arms at the side of the body
• facing the observer
• palms are facing forward (supinated)

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Anatomical Position

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 Directional Terms
Note: the midline is an imaginary vertical line
that divides the body into equal left and right
sides
Superior: nearer the head
• e.g. the heart is superior to the liver
Inferior: farther away from the head
• e.g. the stomach is inferior to the lungs

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 Directional Terms
Anterior (ventral): nearer to or in front of the
body
• e.g. the sternum is anterior to the heart
Posterior (dorsal): nearer to or at the back
of the body
• e.g. the esophagus is posterior to the trachea

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 Directional Terms
Medial: closer to the midline of the body
• e.g. the ulna is on the medial side of the
forearm
Lateral: farther away from the midline of the
body
• e.g. the ear is lateral to the nose in all
individuals

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 Directional Terms
Proximal: nearer to the attachment of an extremity
(limb) to
• the trunk; nearer to the point of origin
• e.g. the humerus is proximal to the radius
Distal: farther from the attachment of an extremity
(limb) to the
• trunk; farther away from the point of origin
• e.g. the phalanges are distal to the carpals (wrist
bones)

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 Directional Terms
Superficial: on or near the surface of the body
• e.g. the skin is the most superficial organ of
the body
Deep: farther away from the surface of the body
• e.g. the ribs are deep to the skin of the chest

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 Planes of Motion and Axes
• Biomechanics is the study of human
movements through the use of physics. As
such, biomechanics has its own language and
terminology. The language of biomechanics
establishes a common reference system of
standard terms. Planes and axes of motion
are an important part of this language.

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 Planes of Motion
A plane of motion can be defined as the two dimensional space cut by a
moving body or the plane along which movements occur. There are
generally three planes used to describe segmental and body movements
in physical activity. These are:
Sagittal plane
• a vertical plane that cuts the body into right and left sides
Frontal plane
• vertical plane that cuts the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back)
parts
Transverse plane
• horizontal plane that cuts the body into superior and inferior parts

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Anatomical Planes

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 Anatomical Axes
An axis is the point about which rotation of a body or of a body segment occurs.
There are three axes of rotation. Each axis is associated with a plane of motion
and the axis is perpendicular to that plane.
Horizontal axis (…think East and West)
• passes through the body from side to side
• perpendicular to the sagittal plane
Antereoposterior axis (axis)
• passes through the body from front to back
• perpendicular to the frontal plane
Longitudinal axis (…think North and South pole)
• passes through the body from top to bottom
• perpendicular to the transverse plane

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 Planes & Movements
Movements in the sagittal plane around a horizontal
axis
• (e.g. front roll, back roll, cycling, running)
Flexion
• flexion at a joint results in a decrease of the angle
between the two segments that meet at that joint
Extension
• extension at a joint results in an increase of the angle
between the two segments that meet at that joint
• if the movement occurs beyond the extended
position, the action is called hyperextension

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 Examples of flexion and extension
• shoulder flexion and extension
• elbow flexion and extension
• wrist flexion and extension
• fingers flexion and extension
• hip flexion and extension
• knee flexion and extension
• ankle dorsi flexion and plantar flexion
• tilt of pelvis under
• Dorsi flexion: bringing the toes toward the shin
• Plantar flexion: pointing the toes away from the shin
(toward the floor)

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 Planes & Movements
Movements in the frontal plane around a antereoposterior axis
• (e.g. cartwheel, jumping jacks, galloping)
Abduction
• occurs when a body part is moved away from the midline of
the body
• e.g. shoulder, hip, fingers
Adduction
• occurs when a body part is moved toward the midline of the
body
• e.g. shoulder, hip, fingers
• remember “add to your midline”
• e.g. shoulder, hip, fingers

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 Movements & Planes
Inversion
• Turning the sole of the foot inward at the ankle (so the sole of the foot
faces toward the midline)
Eversion
• turning the sole of the foot outward at the ankle (so the sole of the foot
faces away from the midline)
Elevation
• raising a part to a superior position
• e.g. raising your shoulders toward your ears; closing your jaw
Depression
• lowering a part to an inferior position
• e.g. lowering your shoulders to normal or lower than normal position;
lowering your jaw to an open position

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 More…
Protraction
• Sticking jaw out (pouting)
Retraction
• Bringing jaw back to anatomical position
• Lateral bending
• bending of the spinal column in the frontal plane to
the left or right
• e.g. bending side to side at the waist

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 And More…
Movements in the transverse plane around a longitudinal axis
• (e.g. twist, pirouette)
Rotation
• the movement of a bone around its own axis; this is also known as a pivot
• e.g. the head, neck, and trunk can pivot around the longitudinal axis
Internal (medial) rotation
• Rotation towards the midline
• E.g. turning forearn in towards body
External (lateral) rotation
• Rotation away from midline
• E.g. turning forearm away from body

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 More…
Pronation
• rotation of the forearm and hand to the palms down position
Supination
• rotation of the forearm and hand to the palms up position
(remember holding a cup of “soup”)
Protraction
• Shoulder rounding (hunching shoulders)
Retraction
• Bringing shoulders back to anatomical position, or squeezing
shoulder blades together at back

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 Special movements
Circumduction
• a combination of abduction, adduction, flexion and extension
• this action describes a circle
• e.g. moving the shoulder in a circle (swimming, windmill
throw in baseball); can also be done at the hip joint
Opposition
• Bringing thumb towards fingers
Reposition
• Returning thumb back to anatomical position

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 Best of luck
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