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Easier - A skeleton is an inner framework made of bone and cartilage. Bones are the hard
material of a skeleton. The skeleton supports and/or protects the softer body parts of a fish, bird,
or human. These animals are called vertebrates. They all have a backbone.

Harder - The skeleton is the flexible, bony framework found in all vertebrate animals. The
skeleton maintains a body shape, protects vital organs, and provides a system of muscle levers
that allow body movement. The skeleton contains bone marrow, the blood-forming tissues of the
body. Bone marrow stores needed minerals such as calcium and phosphorus and releases them
into the blood.

A human skeleton generally forms about 206 separate bones out of cartilage as it develops to
maturity. Bones are connected to adjacent bones by joints. Joints are either movable as in the arm
and leg or immovable as in the skull.
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