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What type of skeleton?
Different animals have different types of skeletons:
 Vertebrates have an  Some invertebrates such
internal skeleton. This is as arthropods, have an
called an endoskeleton. external skeleton. This
is called an exoskeleton.

 Some invertebrates such as worms, have a soft

hydrostatic skeleton that consists of a fluid
filled cavity, which allows the animal to move.

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Exoskeletons
Most molluscs are surrounded by a
calcium carbonate exoskeleton,
or shell. This hard tissue is excreted
from the body at stages throughout life,
growing with the rest of the animal.

Arthropods have a jointed

exoskeleton called a cuticle
surrounding the soft tissue.
This contains a protein called
chitin that provides flexibility
and strength.

Exoskeletons provide organisms with protection and support.

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Disadvantages of an exoskeleton
Arthropod exoskeletons are quite rigid, therefore an animal
can only grow until it fills its existing exoskeleton.

In order to grow, an
arthropod needs to shed
its exoskeleton and form a
new one, this is known as
moulting. Without the
exoskeleton the animal is
much more vulnerable.

An exoskeleton is heavy,
so it can limit how large
an arthropod can grow.

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Endoskeletons
An endoskeleton is an internal framework of rigid structures.
In most vertebrates the endoskeleton is made up of bone,
with some cartilage.

Cartilage is a type of flexible

connective tissue. Humans
have cartilage in the outer
ear, trachea, nose and at the
end of long bones.

Some fish have an internal

skeleton that consists only of
cartilage, e.g. shark and rays.

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True or false?

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Why have a skeleton?
The human skeleton has many functions.

Protection – It protects delicate

parts of the body like the brain
and lungs.

Shape – It gives us our shape

and determines our size.

Support – It supports muscles

and organs.

Movement – Muscles are attached to

the bones and move them as levers.

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Identifying bones in the human skeleton

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Bone growth

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Parts of a long bone

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Damaging bones
Despite being very strong, bones can easily be fractured
by a sharp knock.

Fractures are hard tissue injuries where the bone either

cracks or breaks. The tissue around the bone can also be
damaged.

It can be dangerous to
move someone with a
suspected fracture,
especially a spinal injury,
as moving them could
cause further damage.

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Fractures
There are three types of fracture:

Simple (closed) Compound (open)

The bone is cracked but The skin is broken and part

the skin is not broken. of the bone is sticking out.

Greenstick
The bone is cracked on one
side and bent on the other.

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Bone repair
Cartilage and bone are susceptible to infection as they are
living tissues. If tissue is healthy it can fight infection and
undergo growth and repair.
However, over time bones
can become weaker, as
the body becomes less
able to repair itself.
Older people can develop
a condition called
osteoporosis. This
causes bones to become
less dense and more
prone to fractures.

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The human skeleton

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Light box activity

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How do we move?
A joint is a place where two or more bones meet.
Without joints, our skeleton would not be able to move.

The bones at joints are bound together by strong flexible

fibres called ligaments. Ligaments allow movement but
make sure the joint doesn’t move too far, preventing injury.

Tendons connect muscle to bone,

allowing the bones to move.
muscle
tendon
periosteum

bone

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Synovial joints
Synovial joints are highly mobile joints,
like the shoulder and knee.

synovial
Synovial joints contain fluid femur
synovial fluid which is
retained inside a pocket
called the synovial
cartilage
membrane. This
lubricates or ‘oils’ tibia synovial
the joint. membrane

Smooth coverings of cartilage at the ends of the bones stop

them rubbing together and provide some shock absorption.

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Ball and socket joints
There are several different types of synovial joint in the body.

In ball and socket joints, the

rounded end of one bone fits inside a
cup-shaped ending on another bone.

Ball and socket joints allow

movement in all directions and also
rotation. The most mobile joints in
the body are ball and socket joints.
Examples: Shoulder and hip.

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Hinge joints
Hinge joints – as their name suggests –
only allow forwards and backwards
movement.

Examples: The knee and elbow.

elbow knee
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Movement of joints
Muscles are attached to bones by tendons.

The tendon at the non-moving (or

fixed) end is known as the origin.

The tendon at the moving end

is known as the insertion.

Muscles pull by contracting – they cannot

push to produce the opposite movement.

Muscles are arranged in antagonistic pairs. As one muscle

contracts (shortens) its partner relaxes (lengthens). They
swap actions to reverse the movement.

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Movement of joints

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Fixed joints
Some joints in the body are fixed, these are also known as
immovable joints.

They are sometimes called fibrous joints because the

bones are held together by tough fibres.

Immovable joints are

several bones fused
together to form a rigid
structure.

Examples: The skull

and pelvis.

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Joint replacements
If joints become warn out or damaged some can be replaced,
including hip and knee joints

There are several benefits of

joint replacement surgery:
 improved movement
 pain relief
 alignment of deformed joints.

Risks include those associated with surgery. Recovery from

joint replacements can take a long time and physiotherapy
may be needed.

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Which joint?

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Growth
In animals, most growth
occurs in the early stages.
In humans this is usually
between the ages of 0–20
years old.
Growth can be
measured as an
increase in height
or mass.
Whether or not a person is still growing can be determined
by the amount of cartilage present in their skeleton.
A person’s final height and mass are determined by several
factors, including genes, diet, exercise, hormones and health.

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Measuring height

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Growth hormone
Growth in humans is
controlled by a hormone, pituitary
called the human growth gland
hormone (HGH), produced in
the pituitary gland. HGH
particularly affects long bone
growth.

If HGH levels are too low, a person’s growth can be

restricted. In extreme cases this can cause dwarfism.

If HGH levels are too high, a person’s growth will be

unusually rapid. This can cause gigantism.

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Growth charts

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What happens if we live longer?

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Glossary

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Anagrams

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Multiple-choice quiz

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