We explain what the bone system is and what its main functions are. In addition, its characteristics and the types of bones it has.
We call the bone system or skeletal system a complex and resistant bone structure that constitutes our skeleton , and that provides us with the support and essential protection to the internal organs essential for life . Together with the muscular system and the joints, they make up the locomotor system of the human body.
The bone system is made up of some 206 bones of different shapes and sizes , all hardened from the accumulation of calcium and other elements in a process called mineralization .
This makes them rigid and resistant pieces, connected to each other , and complemented by cartilage, a rigid but elastic material much less resistant.
Thus, the bone system combines living cells (called osteocytes) responsible for generating vital substances and for growing and reproducing, together with inert materials (calcium and phosphorus salts) that give it its constitution and strength.
The skeletal system encompasses all the bones in the body , approximately 206, not counting the teeth , which represents 12% of the total body weight.
The bones are all joined together , articulated in a continuum, except for the hyoid bone, isolated in the lower part of the neck.
Between the different bones there is a mass of cartilage, tendons and ligaments that serve as a cushion between one and the other to prevent them from impacting when the body moves, which keep them firm in place and covered with muscles (which allows precisely to deal with their weight ).
Due to their resistance, bones are the last part of the human body to break down , surviving the rest of the tissues for years.
The skeleton is a distinctive element of vertebrate animals , to whom it provides support and forms an endoskeleton, especially made up of a spinal column that protects the medulla and central nervous tissue.
Unlike other animals that do not have a skeleton or have it outside the body, such as the exoskeleton of insects (a chitin shell).
The functions of the skeleton are as follows:
Among the numerous bones of the skeleton, the most extensive, known or vital ones stand out, such as:
Bones are usually classified based on their shape, as follows:
Bones are made up of the following parts:
The bones protect a wide segment of the human body, the head being the most covered (by the bones of the skull and face) , then the thorax (ribs, sternum, shoulder blades, spine, among others), then the hip and finally the upper and lower extremities. The only portion of the human body devoid of bones is the abdomen where the intestinal viscera are found.
The skeletal system comprises two distinct sets of bones:
Bones, like the entire human body, are nourished through blood supply and access to essential nutrients for their energy processes and for their calcification.
The consumption of calcium, in this sense, is vital especially during early ages when the bones are growing and expanding.
In fact, the bones of a newborn are still weak and flexible , since it is required by the easy exit of the baby through the mother's pelvis, but immediately afterwards the mother's milk provides the necessary minerals to make them rigid and resistant.
Bones can suffer from numerous diseases, which have to do with the loss of their hardness (osteoporosis) due to progressive decalcification, or with damage (autoimmune or not) to the joints that causes sprains (ecoliosis or lordosis) contrary to their natural orientation.
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