Skeletal System Vocabulary
1. Axial Skeleton: The bones that form the longitudinal axis of the body
2. Appendicular Skeleton: The bones of the limbs and girdles
3. Compact Bone: A type of bone tissue, dense and looks smooth and
homogeneous
4. Spongy Bone: A type of bone tissue, composed of small needlelike pieces of
bone, lots of open space
5. Long Bone: Longer than they are wide, shaft with heads on both ends, mostly
composed of compact bone
6. Short Bone: Cubed-shaped, mostly composed of spongy bone
7. Flat Bone: Thin flattened usually curved, two layers of compact bone
sandwiching a layer of spongy bone
8. Irregular Bone: Bones that do not fit any of the bone categories
9. Diaphysis: The shaft of the long bone, makes up most of the bones length
10. Periosteum: Covers and protect the long bone, made of fibrous connective
tissue
11. Epiphyses: The ends of a long bone
12. Articular Cartilage: Covers the external surface of the ends of the long bones
13. Epiphyseal Line:A line of bony tissue spanning the epiphysis, in adult bones
14. Epiphyseal Plate: A flat plate of hyaline cartilage, growth of bones
15. Medullary Cavity/Yellow Marrow Cavity: Cavity of the shaft in adults,
primarily storage of adipose tissue
16. Red Marrow: Formation of red blood cells, children
17. Bone Markings: Reveals where muscles, tendons, and ligaments attach, and
where blood vessels and nerves pass
18. Osteocytes: Mature bone cells
19. Lucunae: Tiny cavities within the matrix filled with mature bone cells
arranged in concentric circles
20. Lamellae: Rings around the central canal, sites of lacunae
21. Central Canals/Haversian: Openings in the center of the osteon, carries
blood vessels and nerves
22. Osteon/Haversian System: A unit of bone containing central canal and matrix
rings
23. Canaliculi: Tiny canals, from central canal to lacunae, and form a transport
system connecting all bone cells to a nutrient supply.
24. Perforating Canals/Volkmann’s: Canal that is perpendicular to the central
canal, allowing communication from the outside to the interior of the bone
25. Ossifications: Bone formation
26. Osteoblasts: Bone forming cells
27. Osteoclasts: Bone destroying cells
28. Bone Remodeling: Essential for bone growth to maintain normal proportion
29. Closed Fracture: When a bone breaks and does not penetrate the skin
30. Open Fracture: When a bone breaks and does penetrate the skin
31. Hematoma: blood filled swelling
32. Fibrocartilage Callus: Mass of repaired tissue composed of connective tissue
cells
33. Bony Callus: Follows a fibrocartilage callus composed of spongy tissue