The Skeleton
Skeletal System
Functions of the skeleton
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The bones in your body make up your skeleton.
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The skeleton has four functions: Protection, Support, Movement
and Blood Protection.
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The skelton protects vitasl organs e.g. the Brain.
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Some vital organs, such as your lungs, are attached to the skeleton
so they stay in place.
What Bones are made of
Mature bones are hard and rigid. They are made of calcium phosphate and
calcium carbonate
They contain collagen fibres, which add strength to the bones, making
bones strong and light.
Babies have more joints than older people. Joints harden and ossify as you
grow. For example, a baby's hip joint has three bones; these ossify into
one bone between six and nine months.
Parts of the skeleton
The skeleton has two parts, the axial skeleton and the appendicular
skeleton.
Diffrent types of
bone
There are five types of bone:
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long bones
short bones
flat bones
irregular bones
sesamoid bones.
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Long bones are the bones in the arms and legs such as the
femur, fibula and tibia and the humerus, ulna and radius.

Short bones are the bones in the wrist (the carpals) and ankle
(the tarsals). Flat bones are the skull, scapula and hip bone.

Irregular bones are the vertebrae in the spine and the facial
bones. Sesamoid bones are in tendons. For example the kneecap
or patella bone in the quadriceps tendon.
Summary
The skeleton has four functions: protection, support, movement and blood
production.
The skeleton has two parts: the axial skeleton, which forms the central core; and
the appendicular skeleton, which consists of the limbs and links the limbs to the
central core.
The body has different types of joints in it. Some don't move at all; their main
role is protection. Some move a little bit, and some move a lot. The ones that
move a lot are called synovial joints