The Skeletal System

Tristan Joseph Cantillo BSN-RN,CRN

 OVERVIEW
The skeleton is the framework that provides
structure to the rest of the body and
facilitates movement. 

Orthopaedics – branch of the medical science

concerned with the prevention or correction
of disorders of the musculoskeletal system
• The skeletal system is composed of more than
bones.
• It also includes ligaments and cartilage.
Ligaments are bands of dense and fibrous
connective tissue that holds bones together
and are key to the function of joints. Cartilage
is more flexible than bone but stiffer than
muscle. Cartilage helps give structure to the
larynx and nose. It is also found between the
vertebrae and at the ends of bones like the
femur.
• These bones provide structure and protection
and facilitate motion. Bones articulate to form
structures. The skull protects the brain and
gives shape to the face. The thoracic cage
surrounds the heart and lungs. The vertebral
column, commonly called the spine, is formed
by over 30 small bones. Then there are the
limbs (upper and lower) and the girdles that
attach the four limbs to the vertebral column.
The skeleton protects vital orgasn
• The brain is surrounded by bones that form
part of the skull. The heart and lungs are
located within the thoracic cavity, and the
vertebral column provides structure and
protection for the spinal cord.
Bone + Muscle + Nerve = Body Movement
• Muscles throughout the human body are
attached to bones. Nerves around a muscle
can signal the muscle to move. When the
nervous system sends commands to skeletal
muscles, the muscles contract. That
contraction produces movement at the joints
between bones.
Axial and Appendicular Skeleton
• Bones of the appendicular skeleton facilitate
movement, while bones of the axial skeleton
protect internal organs. All skeletal structures
belong to either the appendicular skeleton
(girdles and limbs) or to the axial skeleton
(skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage).
• Bones of the human skeletal system are
categorized by their shape and function into
five types. The femur is an example of a long
bone. The frontal bone is a flat bone. The
patella, also called the knee cap, is a sesamoid
bone. Carpals (in the hand) and tarsals (in the
feet) are examples of short bones.
 Bones produce Red Blood Cells
• Red bone marrow is soft tissue located in
networks of spongy bone tissue inside some
bones. In adults the red marrow in bones of
the cranium, vertebrae, scapulae, sternum,
ribs, pelvis, and at the epiphyseal ends of the
large long bones produce blood cells.(refer to
slide #11)
 ROM (Range of Motion)
• One way to classify joints is by range of motion.
Immovable joints include the sutures of the skull,
the articulations between teeth and the mandible,
and the joint located between the first pair of ribs
and the sternum. Some joints have slight
movement; an example is the distal joint between
the tibia and fibula. Joints that allow a lot of
motion (think of the shoulder, wrist, hip, and
ankle) are located in the upper and lower limbs.
• An infant skeleton has almost a hundred more
bones than the skeleton of an adult. Bone
formation begins at about three months
gestation and continues after birth into
adulthood. An example of several bones that
fuse over time into one bone is the sacrum. At
birth the sacrum is five vertebrae with discs in
between them. The sacrum is fully fused into
one bone usually by the fourth decade of life.
 Functions
• Support
• Protection
• Assists movement
• Mineral storage
• Hematopoesis
hema-blood
poesis-to make
• Cancellous bone, also called trabecular
bone or spongy bone, light,
porous bone enclosing numerous large spaces
that give a honeycombed or spongy
appearance.  Spongy bone reduces the density
of bone and allows the ends of long bones to
compress as the result of stresses applied to
the bone.
• Compact bone, also known as cortical bone, is
a denser material used to create much of the
hard structure of the skeleton.
• The periosteum and endosteum are essential
for growing, fracture healing, and remodeling
of the bone.
• Periosteum and endosteum contain cells
(osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteoprogenitor
cells) required for bone development and
remodeling of the bone. 
 The “O ” Cells
3 special cells only found in the bone
• OSTEOCLASTS are large cells that dissolve the
bone. They come from the bone marrow and
are related to white blood cells. They are
formed from two or more cells that fuse
together, so the osteoclasts usually have more
than one nucleus. They are found on the
surface of the bone mineral next to the
dissolving bone.
• OSTEOCYTES are cells inside the bone. They also
come from osteoblasts. Some of the osteoblasts
turn into osteocytes while the new bone is being
formed, and the osteocytes then get surrounded
by new bone. They are not isolated, however,
because they send out long branches that
connect to the other osteocytes. These cells can
sense pressures or cracks in the bone and help to
direct where osteoclasts will dissolve the bone.
 These cell names all starts in “OSTEO”
because that is the Greek word for BONES
• OSTEOBLASTS are the cells that form new bone. They also
come from the bone marrow and are related to structural
cells. They have only one nucleus. Osteoblasts work in
teams to build bone. They produce new bone called
"osteoid" which is made of bone collagen and other
protein. Then they control calcium and mineral deposition.
They are found on the surface of the new bone.When the
team of osteoblasts has finished filling in a cavity, the cells
become flat and look like pancakes. They line the surface
of the bone. These old osteoblasts are also called LINING
CELLS. They regulate passage of calcium into and out of
the bone, and they respond to hormones by making
special proteins that activate the osteoclasts.
 Bones of Axial Skeleton
• Skull – 28
• Hyoid – 1
• Vertebral column – 26
• Sternum and Ribs – 25
 The Immovable Joints
• Coronal Suture – attaches frontal bone to
parietal bone
• Sagittal Suture – between the parietal bone.
• Lambdoid Suture – separates occipital from
parietal bone.
• Squamous Suture – from boundaries between
temporal and parietal bones.
The Infant Skull
 Appendicular skeleton
• The appendicular skeleton is the portion of
the skeleton of vertebrates consisting of
the bones that support the appendages. There
are 126 bones. The appendicular
skeleton includes the skeletal elements within
the limbs, as well as supporting shoulder
girdle pectoral and pelvic girdle.
• Pectoral girdles
• Clavicle (2)
• Scapula (2)
• Upper Extremity

• Humerus (2)
• Radius (2)
• Ulna (2)
• Carpals (16)
• Metacarpals (10)
• Phalanges (28)
 Pelvic Girdle
Coxal, innominate, or hip bones (2)
• Lower Extremity
• Femur (2)
• Tibia (2)
• Fibula (2)
• Patella (2)
• Tarsals (14)
• Metatarsals (10)
• Phalanges (28