The skeleton is split into 2 parts: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton includes the bone, vertebral column, ribs, and breastbone. The appendicular skeleton includes all upper and lower extremities, the shoulder girdle and the pelvic girdle. Bones within the physical structure are available in four main shapes, long, short, flat, and irregular and are composed of webs of collagen fibers reinforced with calcium and phosphorous. The scleroprotein offers flexibility whereas the minerals provide lastingness. There are five functions of the skeleton within the body, three of which are external and visible to the naked eye, and two of which are internal. The external functions are:Â structure, movement, and protection. The internal functions are:Â somatic cell production and storage.
Structure
Like the steel framework of a building, the functions of the skeleton and also the bones is to produce rigidity, which supplies the body form and supports the load of the muscles and organs. Without this structure, the body would collapse in on itself, compression the lungs, heart, and different organs–impairing their performance.
Movement
There are 3 major systems concerned within the mechanics of movement:
-Nervous system
-Muscular system
-Skeletal system
The system sends the electrical impulses that activate the muscles, the skeletal system provides the levers and anchors for the muscles to drag against. All skeletal muscles have an origin and insertion purpose.
The origin is that the anchor, the bone that is still immobile whereas the muscle works. The insertion is that the bone that moves as the muscle works, which is one in all the main functions of the skeleton. So, as an example, within the case of the striated muscle, the upper arm and shoulder are the origins (anchor) and the bones of the forearm are the insertion. Interestingly, the number of power the muscle desires is directly associated with the length of the bone (or lever) and wherever it’s connected. This means that shorter people actually use less power to move than taller people because they have shorter bones, and the point of attachment is closer to the point of origin.
3. Protection
The most obvious example of the functions of the skeleton’s protecting properties is that the human skull. The vertebrae and ribs even have to protect functions by encasing delicate structures just like the neural structure, heart, and lungs. The skeletal structure not solely surrounds the organs of respiration, but it’s also very flexible and is constructed to expand and contract with each breath. The vertebrae are all irregularly formed bones within the form that offer each protection and adaptability for movement. There are fibrous disks between every bone, which provide shock absorption.
4. Blood Cell Production
Red and white blood cells are created within the marrow of bones. In an adult human, a majority of the long bones contain yellow bone marrow, and the red marrow is found in flat bones of the hip, skull, shoulder blades, and vertebrae.
However, within the event of severe blood loss, the body will convert some yellow bone marrow back to the red bone marrow to extend blood corpuscle production.
5. Storage
The body uses calcium and phosphorous for bodily processes like muscle contraction. Some of those minerals are found in our diet, but they are also taken from the bones in the human body. When the body desires Ca, if there isn’t a ready supply in the blood, the endocrine system releases hormones that initiate the process of taking calcium from bone and releasing it into the bloodstream. When there’s a surplus of blood Ca, it’s restored into the bones.
