9
THE SKELETAL SYSTEM
Specific Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
 Describe the structure and functions of the
mammalian skeleton.
INTRODUCTION - THE
MAMMALIAN SKELETON
A skeleton is a large interconnected bones
that supports and protects the body of
living organisms.
The skeleton supports the soft tissues and
provides leverage for movement. An adult
man has about 206 bones in the body as
opposed to 275 in a child.
Types of skeletons
There are two types of skeletons, namely,
endoskeleton and exoskeleton.
Endoskeleton: This is the type of
skeleton found within the bodies of
vertebrate (animals with backbones).
Examples of animals with endoskeleton are
humans, birds, fish, snakes, etc.
Exoskeleton: This type of skeleton is
found outside the bodies of invertebrates
(animals without backbones). Examples of
animals with exoskeleton are shrimp,
insects, prawn, crab, etc.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
OF THE MAMMALIAN SKELETON
The human skeleton is divided into two
distinct parts – the axial skeleton and the
appendicular skeleton.
The axial skeleton
This consists of bones that form the axis of
the body and support and protect the
organs of the head, neck, and trunk.
Examples are:
The Skull: The skull is the skeleton which
is on top of the vertebral column in all
vertebrates. The skull encases and protects
the brain and provides attachment for the
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muscles of the face and mouth.

The Sternum: Also known as the

breastbone, the sternum is a rigid structure
which is found at the front of the chest to
form the thoracic cage with the ribs

The Ribs: the ribs are long, slender bones

attached to the backbone that curve around
the chest cavity, or thorax. Ribs occur in
pairs and are found in almost all
vertebrates, or animals with backbones.

The Vertebral Column: Also called

spinal column or backbone, the vertebral Fig. 5.7: The vertebral column of man
column is the structure of bone or cartilage
surrounding and protecting the spinal cord Types of vertebrae
in vertebrate There are five major vertebrae in
The spinal column forms the major part of mammals:
the skeleton. To it are attached the skull,  Cervical vertebrae: found around the
shoulder bones, ribs, and pelvis. The neck area
vertebral column consists approximately of  Thoracic vertebrae: found around the
thirty-three bones called vertebrae. chest area.
Between each pair of vertebrae is a disk-  Sacral vertebrae: found around the
shaped pad of fibrous cartilage with a jelly- lower abdomen
like core, which is called the intervertebral  Caudal vertebrae: found around the
disk. tail area.
Each pair of vertebrae is connected by a  Lumber vertebrae: found around the
joint which stabilizes the vertebral column thoracic cavity.
and allows it to move. These disks cushion
the vertebrae during movement. The entire The appendicular skeleton
spine encloses and protects the spinal cord, This is composed of bones that anchor the
which is a column of nerve tracts running appendages to the axial skeleton. Examples
from every area of the body to the brain. are: the shoulder girdle and the pelvic
girdle. (The sacrum and coccyx are
considered part of the vertebral column)

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Fig. 5.8 :Superior view of the vertebrae
TYPES OF BONES
The bones of the body fall into four general
categories: long bones, short bones, flat
bones, and irregular bones.
Long bones: these bones are longer than
they are wide and work as levers. The
bones of the upper and lower extremities
(examples humerus, tibia, femur, ulna,
metacarpals, etc.) are of this type.
Short bones: These bones are short, cube-
shaped, and found in the wrists and ankles.
Flat bones: These bones have broad
surfaces for protection of organs and
attachment of muscles (examples are ribs,
cranial bones, bones of shoulder girdle).
Irregular bones: These are all other bones
that do not fall into the above categories.
They have varied shapes, sizes and
surfaces features and include the bones of
the vertebrae and a few bones in the skull.
Bone composition
Bones are composed of tissue that may
take one or 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
fibres and ground substance to give the
bone flexibility
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Structure of human skeleton
Fig. 5.9: Structure of the human skeleton
Skull
The skull is the bony framework of the
head. It is comprised of the eight cranial
and fourteen facial bones.
Functions:
 It encases the brain
 It protects the brain
 It provides attachment for the
muscles of the face and mouth.
Scapula (the shoulder blade)
A flat, triangular bone that lies over the
back of the upper ribs.
Functions:
 It serves as an attachment for some of
the muscles and tendons of the arm,
neck, chest and back and
 It aids in the movements of the arm
and shoulder.
Spine, vertebra and disk
The spine is a column of bone and
cartilage that extends from the base of the
skull to the pelvis.
Functions:
 It encloses and protects the spinal cord.
 It supports the trunk of the body and
the head.
The sacrum
The sacrum, at the base of the vertebral
column, is wedged between the coaxial
bones of the pelvis and is attached to them
by fibro-cartilage at the sacroiliac joints.
Function:
 The weight of the body is transmitted
to the legs through the pelvic girdle at
the sacrum.
Sternum (breastbone)
A long, narrow, flat plate that forms the
centre of the front of the chest.
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9 The Skeletal System
Tarsal bone
The foot consists of an ankle, an instep, and
five toes. The ankle is composed of seven
tarsal bones, forming a group called the
tarsus.
Function:
 It helps to support the weight of the
body and provides an attachment for
muscles that move the foot.
Carpal bones
The skeleton of the wrist consists of eight
small carpal bones that are firmly bound in
two rows of four bones each. .
Clavicle
The clavicle is the collarbone. There are
two of these bones, each curved a little like
an "f," that joins the top of the breastbone
(sternum) to the shoulder blade (scapula).
The clavicles support the arms and transmit
force from the arms into the central
skeleton.
The coccyx
The coccyx (or tail) is the lowest part of
the vertebral column and is attached by
ligaments to the margins of the sacral
hiatus.
When a person is sitting, pressure is
exerted on the coccyx, and it moves
forward, acting like a shock absorber.
(Sitting down with too great a force may
cause the coccyx to be fractured or
dislocated).
Samking
The ribs
Ribs are flat, curved bones that form the
framework of the chest and make up a cage
to protect the heart, lungs and other upper
organs. There are twelve pairs of ribs, each
joined at the back of the cage to a vertebra
in the spine. There are seven true ribs
attached to the sternum (breastbone)
directly by their costal cartilages. The
remaining five pairs are called false ribs,
because their cartilages do not reach the
sternum directly. Instead, the cartilages of
the upper three false ribs join the cartilages
attached to the ribs above, while the last rib
pairs have no cartilaginous attachments to
the sternum at all. These last two pairs are
sometimes called floating ribs.
Functions:
 Protect some vital organs such as the
heart and lungs
 Aids in breathing
Phalanges
The phalanges are the small bones that
make up the skeleton of the fingers, thumb
and toes. Each finger and smaller toe has
three phalanges; the thumb and big toe
each have two. The phalange nearest the
body of the hand or foot is call the
proximal phalange; the one at the end of
each digit is the distal phalange; and when
there are three, the middle one is called the
middle phalange.
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9 The Skeletal System
Femur
The femur is the thigh bone, the longest
bone in the body. It lowers into a ball (or
head of the femur) that fits into a socket in
the pelvis to form the hip joint.
Fibula
The fibula is the outer and thinner of the
two long bones of the lower leg. It is much
narrower than the other bone (the shin), to
which it runs parallel and to which it is
attached at both ends by ligaments. The
upper end of the fibula does not reach the
knee, but the lower end descends below the
shin and forms part of the ankle. Its main
function is to provide attachment for
muscles. It doesn't give much support or
strength to the leg, which explains why the
bone can safely be used for grafting onto
other bones in the body.
Humerus
The humerus is the bone of the upper arm.
The smooth, dome-shaped head of the bone
lies at an angle to the shaft and fits into a
shallow socket of the scapula (shoulder
blade) to form the shoulder joint. Below
the head, the bone narrows to form a
cylindrical shaft. It flattens and widens at
the lower end and, at its base, it joins with
the bones of the lower arm (the ulna and
radius) to make up the elbow.
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Pelvis (or Os Coxa)
The pelvis is a ring of bones in the lower
trunk of the body, which is bounded by the
coccyx (tail bone) and the hip bones.
The pelvis protects abdominal organs such
as the bladder, rectum and, in women, the
uterus.
Tibia
The tibia is the inner and thicker of the two
long bones in the lower leg. It is also called
the shin bone.
The tibia is the supporting bone of the
lower leg and runs parallel to the other,
smaller bone (the fibula) to which it is
attached by ligaments.
Functions of the skeleton
1. It gives shape to the body
2. It protects the internal organs of the
body
3. It aids in movement.
4. The ribs aid in breathing.
5. The skeleton provides points of
attachment for the muscles.
6. Red blood cells are produced in the
bone marrow.
7. The skeleton gives support to the body.
Ligaments
A ligament is a band of tissues that
connect bones or cartilages.
Ligaments are tough, fibrous, slightly
elastic tissue and white which in colour,.
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9 The Skeletal System Samking

Ligaments, especially those in the ankle i. movable joints and

joint and knee, are sometimes damaged by
injury. A torn ligament usually results from
twisting stress when the knee is turned
while weight is on that particular leg.
Minor sprains are treated with ice,
bandages and sometimes physical therapy,
but if the ligament is torn, the joint may be
placed in a plaster cast to allow time to
heal or it may require surgical repairs. If a
ligament is made up of several thick bands
of fibrous branches, it is called a collateral
ligament.
Examples of ligaments in a body are:
 Intertransverse Ligaments,
 Interclavicular Ligaments,
 Fibular Collateral Ligament,
 Ligaments of The Foot, etc.
Functions of the ligament
1. It binds the bone ends together to
prevent dislocation and excessive
movement that might cause breakage.
2. Ligaments also support many internal
organs; including the uterus, the
bladder, the liver, and the diaphragm
3. It helps in shaping and supporting the
breasts.
ii. immovable joints.
Movable joints
Movable joints allow movement of parts of
the body. They consist of an external layer
of fibrous cartilage giving rise to strong
ligaments that support the separate bones.
The bones of movable joints are covered
with smooth cartilage and are lubricated by
a thick fluid, called synovial fluid,
produced between the bones in
membranous sacs, known as bursae.
Bursitis, or inflammation of the bursae, is a
common painful condition of movable
joints.
Types of movable joints
Ball and socket joint
This is made up of a bone with a round end
which fits into another with a hollow end.
This joint allows movement in more than
one area. Examples are the shoulder joint
and the hip joint.

JOINTS
JOINTS
Joints are areas where bones or cartilages
in the skeleton meet.
There are two main types of joints in the
skeleton: Fig. 6.0: Shoulder joint

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9 The Skeletal System Samking

Hinge joint
This joint allows movement in only one TEST QUESTIONS
JOINTS
area. Examples are the elbow joint and the
knee joint. 1. What is a skeleton?

2. Enumerate five functions of the

mammalian skeleton.

3. What is a joint?

4. Mention three types of movable joints

and give one example each.

Fig. 6.1: Knee joint 5. The following are some parts of the
mammalian skeleton. Place them in
. the table below as axial or
Gliding joint appendicular skeleton.
This joint allows slide movement of bones  Skull
over each other  Ribs
 Pelvic girdle
 Sternum
 Arm
 Leg
 Shoulder girdle

Axial skeleton Appendicular skeleton

Fig. 6.2: Gliding joint

Immovable/ fixed joints

Immovable joints are held together by
actual intergrowth of bone or by strong
fibrous cartilage; this prevent movement at
all areas. Examples are the pelvic girdle
and the suture (joint in the skull).

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