Chapter 6, 7 & 8: The Skeletal System

THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

BONE & SKELETAL TISSUES

Skeletal Cartilages

Structure

 Made of cartilage tissue (cells = chondrocytes)

 Contains large amounts of water (which accounts for its resilience= ability to
spring back to its original shape after being compressed)
 No nerves fibers
 Surrounded by a fibrous perichondrium (contain blood vessels) that resists
expansion

Types and Location

1. Hyaline Cartilages

 Network of collagenous fibers, translucent (glassy)

 Provide support with flexibility and resilience
 The most abundant skeletal cartilages
 Form most of embryonic skeleton (before bone is formed) , articular
cartilages, costal cartilages, respiratory cartilages (laryngeal cartilages,
tracheal and bronchial cartilages), and nasal cartilages

2. Elastic Cartilages

 Contain more elastic fibers, in addition to collagenic fibers

 Provide more flexible than hyaline cartilage and lightweight support
 Form the external ear and epiglottis

3. Fibrocartilages

 Contain thick collagen fibers

 Provide support and protection, highly compressible and has great
tensile strength
 Form the intervertebral disc, pubic symphysis, disc of knee joint
(menisci)

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Classification of Bones

 Classified on the basis of their shape

1. Long bones
 Length greater than width
 Composed of a diaphysis (shaft) and two epiphyses (ends)
 All limbs bones are long bones except patella, carpals & tarsals
 e.g. humerus, radius, ulna, femur, phalanges, etc

2. Short bones
 Cube shaped
 e.g. carpals, tarsals, patella (sesamoid bone = form in a tendon)

3. Flat bones
 Thin, flattened, a bit curved
 e.g. ribs, sternum, skull bones, scapulae

4. Irregular bones
 Complicated shapes
 e.g. verterbrae, facial bones, hip bones

Functions of Bones

1. Support
 Provide the rigid framework that support the body

2. Protection
 Protect vulnerable internal organs such as brain, heart, lungs, etc.

3. Movement
 Providing anchoring points for muscles and by acting as levers at the
joints

4. Mineral storage
 Serves as a reservoir for minerals (most important - calcium and
phosphate)

5. Blood cell formation (hematopoiesis)

 Occurs within the red marrow cavities of certain bones

Bone Structure

 Bones are organs because they contain various types of tissues:

 Bone (osseous) tissue
 Nervous tissue in their nerves
 Cartilage in their articular cartilages
 Fibrous connective tissue lining the cavity
 Smooth muscle tissue & epithelial tissue in the blood vessels

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Gross Anatomy of Bone

Structure of a Long Bone

1. Diaphysis
 Shaft
 Compact bone surrounds central medullary cavity (marrow cavity)
contains fat (yellow marrow), called the yellow bone marrow cavity

2. Epiphyses
 Bone ends
 Wider than the shaft
 Exterior - compact bone, interior - spongy bone
 Spongy epiphyses filled with red bone marrow
 Joint surface covered with articular (hyaline) cartilage (cushions the
opposing bone ends during joints movement and absorbs stress)
 Between epiphysis and diaphysis is an epiphyseal line (adult), a
remnant of the epiphyseal plate (childhood); this region sometimes
called the metaphysis

3. Membranes
 Bones are covered with:
a. Periosteum (external bone surface)
 Double layered membrane (outer fibrous layer = dense
irregular connective tissue, and inner osteogenic layer,
consists of osteoblasts = ‘bone-forming cells’ and
osteoclasts = ‘bone-destroying cells’)
 Cover the diaphysis
 Supplied with nerve fibers, lymphatic vessel, blood vessels
(enter via a nutrient foramen)
 Provide insertion or anchoring points for ligaments and
tendons

b. Endosteum (internal bone surface)

 Delicate connective tissue
 Lines the inner bone cavities (covers the trabeculae of
spongy bone in marrow cavities)
 Contains both osteoblasts (bone forming cells) and
osteoclasts (bone destroying cells)

Structure of Short, Irregular and Flat Bones

 Consist of:
1. Periosteum
2. Endosteum
 Without diaphysis or epiphyses
 Contain bone marrow (between their trabeculae), but no marrow cavity
 In flat bone, spongy bone called diploe

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Location of Hematopoietic Tissue in Bones

 In adults, red marrow found within the diploe of flat bones and within the
epiphyses of long bones (trabecular cavities of spongy bone)
 In infants red marrow is also found in the medullary cavity

Microscopic Structure of Bone

Compact bone

 Forms outer shell of a bone

 Very hard and dense
 The structural unit of compact bone is called osteon or Haversian system
 The osteon consists of a central canal surrounded by concentric lamellae of
bone matrix
 Osteocytes, embedded in lacunae, are connected to each other & the central
canal by canaliculi

Spongy (Cancellous) bone

 Consist of trabeculae filled with red or yellow marrow

 Withstand stress and support shifts in weight

Chemical Composition of Bone

 Bones is composed of living cells (osteoblast, osteocytes, osteoclasts) and

matrix
 Matrix includes organic substances that are secreted by osteoblast and give
the bone tensile strength and its inorganic components, the hydroxyapatites
(calcium salts), make bone hard

Bone Development

 Ossification = osteogenesis, the process of bone formation

 In embryos this process leads to the formation of the bony skeleton
 Bone growth goes on until early adulthood (growing in thickness throughout life)
 Ossification in adults serve mainly for bone remodeling and repair

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Bone Homeostasis

Bone Remodeling

 New bone is continually deposited and resorbed (removal) in respond to

hormonal and mechanical stimuli
 Continuous recycling of bone (remodeling units) occurs when:
 Osteoblast produce new matrix
 Osteoclast destroy old matrix
 Control of remodeling (hormonal mechanism)

Bone Repair

 Bones are susceptible to fractures or breaks

 Fractures = break in bone, resulting from twists or smashes of bones
 Bones thinning and weaken (old age)

THE SKELETON

Skeleton

 206 bones
 Divided into:

1. Axial skeleton
 80 bones
 Forms the longitudinal axis of the body
 Skull (cranial and facial bones), vertebral column and bony thorax
 Provides support and protection (by enclosed)

2. Appendicular skeleton
 126 bones
 Pectoral (shoulder) girdle, pelvis girdle, upper and lower limbs
 Allows mobility for manipulation and locomotion

Axial Skeleton

1. The Skull
 22 bones
 Cranial bones/ cranium (8) protect the brains
 Frontal (1), occipital (1), ethmoid (1), sphenoid (1), parietal (2) and
temporal (2)

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 Facial bones (14) provides openings for the respiratory and digestive
passage, and attachment points for facial muscles
 Mandible (1), vomer (1), maxillae (2), zygomatics (2), palatines (2),
nasal (2), lacrimals (2) and inferior nasal conchae (2)
 Mandible = largest and strongest bone of the face
 All bones of the adult skull are joined by immovable sutures except for the
temporomandibular joints
 Orbits and nasal cavity: complicated bony regions formed of several bones
 Paranasal sinuses: occur in the frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid and maxillary
bones
 Hyoid bone: not really a skull bone, is supported in the neck by ligaments,
serves as an attachment point for tongue and neck muscles

2. The Vertebral Column/ Spine

 26 bones
 Vertebrae (24), sacrum (1) and coccyx (1)
 24 movable vertebrae; 7 cervical (C1-C7), 12 thoracic (T1- T12), and 5
lumbar (L1-L5)
o C1= atlas, C2= axis (joint allows to rotate head side to side to
indicate ”no”
 1 sacrum (5 fused vertebrae)
 1 coccyx (4 fused vertebrae)
 Separated by fibrocartilage intervertebral disc acts as shock absorbers and
provide flexibility
 The S-shaped to allow for upright posture
 Primary spinal curvatures (thoracic and sacral) present at birth
 Secondary spinal curvatures (cervical and lumbar) develop after birth
 Curvatures increase spine flexibility

3. The Bony Thorax or Thoracic Cage

 Sternum (1) and ribs (12 pairs) protect the organs of the thoracic cavity
 Sternum (breastbone) consists of fused manubrium, body and xiphoid
process
 All ribs attach posteriorly to thoracic vertebrae
 Anteriorly, the first 7 rib pairs are called true ribs attach directly to sternum
 Last 5 pairs are called false ribs (rib pairs 8, 9 & 10 attach indirectly to
sternum and rib pairs 11 and 12 are floating ribs)

Appendicular Skeleton

1. The Pectoral (shoulder) Girdle

 Each pectoral girdle consists of one clavicle and one scapula
 Attach the upper limbs to axial skeleton
 Scapulae articulate with clavicles and with the humerus bones

2. The Upper Limb

 Each upper limb consists of 30 bones and is specialized for mobility
 Arm (humerus), forarm (radius and ulna), hand (carpals, metacarpals and
phalanges)

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3. The Pelvic (Hip) Girdle

 Formed by two coxal/hip bones
 Together with the sacrum, the hip bones form the basinlike bony pelvis
 Each hip bone is result of fusion of the ilium, ischium and pubis/pubic bones
 V-shape pubic bones articulate anteriorly at the pubic symphysis
(fibrocartilage disc) forming an arch called pubic arch (helps to differentiate
male and female pelves)
 Female pelvis is light and broader; inlet is larger and more circular, which
reflects the childbearing function (birth canal)

4. The Lower Limb

 Each lower limb consists of the thigh (femur), leg (tibia and fibula) and foot
(tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges), and is specialized for weight bearing
and locomotion
 Foot supported by 3 arches (lateral, medial and transverse) that distribute
body weight to the heel and the ball of the foot

ARTICULATIONS (JOINTS)

 Sites where bones meet

 Functions are to hold bones together and to allow movement of the skeleton

Classification of Joints

 3 functional categories:
1. Synarthroses (immovable)
2. Amphiarthroses (slightly movable)
3. Diarthroses (freely movable)
 Classified structurally as fibrous, cartilaginous, or synovial

1. Fibrous Joints
 Fibrous connective tissue unites the bones
 No joint cavity
 Usually synarthroses (immovable) or synarthrotic
 Types of fibrous joints:
a. Sutures (skull)
b. Syndesmoses (tibia and fibula)
c. Gomphoses (tooth)

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2. Catilaginous Joints
 Bones are unites by a plate of hyaline cartilage or a softer
fibrocartilaginous disc
 No joint cavity
 Usually amphiarthroses (slightly movable) or amphiarthrotic
 Types of cartilaginous joints:
a. Synchondroses: synarthrotic (epiphyseal plate and costal
cartilage)
b. Symphyses: amphiarthrotic (pubic symphysis)

3. Synovial Joints
 Bones move easily on each other
 Ends of the bones are plated with a smooth articular cartilage,
 Enclosed within joint cavity by a fibrous articular capsule and
lubricate with synovial fluid
 Usually diarthroses (freely movable joint) or diarthrotic

Structure of Synovial Joints

1. Articular Cartilage
 Hyaline cartilage covers the surfaces
 Absorb compression

2. Joint/Synovial cavity
 Joint cavity contains synovial fluid for lubrication

3. Articular capsule
 2 layered:
a. Fibrous capsule
b. Synovial membrane

4. Synovial fluid
 Occupies space within the joint capsule
 Reduce reduction between cartilages

5. Reinforcing ligaments
 Thicken parts of fibrous capsule
 Supplied with nerve endings and blood vessels

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Movements Allowed by Synovial Joints

 Movements can occur when muscle contract across joints:

 Gliding movements
 Flexion
 Extension & Hyperextension
 Dorsiflexion & Plantar flexion of the foot
 Abduction
 Adduction
 Circumduction
 Medial rotation & Lateral rotation
 Supination & Pronation
 Inversion & Eversion
 Protraction & Retraction
 Elevation & Depression
 Opposition

Types of Synovial Joints

 Differ in range of motion; nonaxial (gliding), uniaxial (in one plane), biaxial (in
two planes), or multiaxial (in all three planes)
 Types of synovial joints:
1. Plane (gliding) joints: intercarpals and intertarsals joints
2. Hinge joint: elbow and knee joints, and interphalangeal joints
3. Pivot joint: atlas and axis joint,and proximal radioulnar joint
4. Condyloid joint: radiocarpal/wrist joints and knuckle joints
5. Saddle joint: carpometacarpal joints of the thumb
6. Ball and socket joint: shoulder joints and hip joints