GENERAL ANATOMY OF SKELETON

Y.A.Guseva, PhD, Associate Professor,

Department of Normal Anatomy, BSMU, Minsk
OSTEOLOGY – science about bones

The skeleton consists of

more than 200 paired and
unpaired bones
Functions of skeleton:
• basic
• protective
• motor
• antigravitational
• blood production
• exchange of substances
 Classification (division) of bones
• Tubular bones:
long, short;
• Spongy bones:
long, short,
sesamoid;
• Flat:
skull bones, girdle
bones;
• Mixed.
 Classification (division) of bones

1. Bones of trunk.

2. Bones of girdles of extremities.

3. Bones of free extremities.

4. Bones of skull.
 Development of bones

• 1st stage – connective tissue.

• 2nd stage – cartilaginous tissue.

• 3rd stage – bone tissue.

 Classification (division) of bones

1. Primary bones – develop from connective

tissue.

2. Secondary bones – develop from cartilagenous

tissue.
• Vertebral column compartments
• cervical part, pars cervicalis
• chest part, pars thoracica
• lumbar part, pars lumbalis
• sacral part, pars sacralis
• coccygeal part, pars coccygea
• Vertebras:
• true
- cervical
- thoracal
- lumbar
• false
- sacral
- coccygeal
• Length of vertebral column - 2/5 of all the
length of the adult person:
• At the adult man of average growth ,170 sm - 73
sm
• At women is average 68-69 sm (on 3-5 sm is
shorter, than at men)
• At senile age - decreases approximately for 5 sm
• Features of structure of human vertebral
column:
• Increase of bodies of vertebras in a direction
from top to down
• Shortening of cervical vertebras
• Reduction of number of thoracal and lumbar
vertebras
• Reduction of vertebras in the lower department
• Reduction of weight and length of spinous
processus of vertebras
• The S-shaped form caused by presence of four
bends
 Bearing forms

• normal
• bends to the back
• with the smoothed
bends (so-called «a
round back»)
 Scoliosis (physiological or aortal)

• It is a small bend in the upper part of

thoracal department
• - It is located at level of III - V thoracal
vertebras,
• - It is connected with passage at this
level of aorta or prevalence of the right
hand.
• Sharply expressed scoliosis can be
consequence of anomalies of
development of vertebras and leads to
functional changes of internal organs.
 Changes of vertebral column of the
elderly
• - the volume of movements of vertebral column
decreases
• - there is a degeneration of intervertebral disks
(they become friable, lose elasticity)
• - there is a degeneration of articulate cartilages
(ossification in the centre of intervertebral disks)
• - there is an accretion of the vertebras
• - vertebras change: bodies of vertebras become
spongy, on their edges the osteofites are formed, the
height of bodies of vertebras decreases
 Development of skeleton of trunk

Stages of trunk skeleton

Fibrous Cartilagineous Bony

1-2 month 3-4 month 5 month
Development of trunk skeleton
• Rudiments of axial skeleton - sclerotomies
• Rudiment of vertebral body-sclerotomies of two
adjacent to each other somites
Rudiments of processus and ribs - pair congestions of
mesenchemal cells which extend from the body in
dorso-lateral direction.
 Development of vertebral
•
trunk
Transformation of mesenchemal cells in cartilagineous (on 5th week of pre-natal development),
begins in the field of bodies of vertebras, and then - in the field of arches and costal shoot.
• The vertebral foramen remains not closed behind
• Accretion of arches (on 8 week of pre-natal development) - from thoracal department in the
caudal and cranial direction.
• Closed cartilagineous ring round the spinal cord is formed by 16th week of pre-natal
development.
• Sternum is formed as a result of connection of ventral ends of the upper 9 ribs
 Development of vertebral trunk
• Occurrence of points of ossification (on 8th week of embryogenesis)
• - In cervical, thoracal and lumbar vertebras (3 points of ossification - one in the body and
two in the arch)
• - In ribs (in angle level)
• - In the chest (6 points of ossification: one in the manubrium and five in the body).
Features of structure of skeleton of trunk of the
newborn

• - vertebral column is elastic, but possesses small durability

• - vertebral column bends are poorly expressed
• - thorax form is pyramidal with narrowed top and
expanded bottom apertures
• - epygastral angle is about 115 °
• - ribs have horizontal direction
• - intercostal intervals are wide
 The periods of growth of
vertebral column

• the first 3 years of life

• 7 - 13 years
Variants and anomalies of development of
vertebras

Anomalies
• lead to deformations,
• cause infringement of movements
• are accompanied by painful frustration
 Variants and anomalies of vertebras (of a
clinical sign)

• Anomalies of development of bodies of

vertebras.
• Anomalies of development of posterior
compartments of vertebras.
• Anomalies of development of number of
vertebras.
 Anomalies of development of bodies of
vertebras
• anomalies of development of
tooth of II cervical vertebra:
• microspondilia- the small sizes of
vertebras.
• pathological formes of vertebras
• spina bifida
 Anomalies of development of bodies of
vertebras

• spondilolis – absent of
connection of bodies and
vertebras arches (V lumbar
vertebra)

• spondilolistesis -
displacement of a body of
the upper overlying
vertebra forward to the
underlying vertebra.
Anomalies of development of posterior
parts of vertebras

– Anormalies of
vertebras arches:

absence, deformation
of vertebral arch
– Anomalies of
processus:
agenesia, deformation,
additional processus
– concrescencia –
assimilation of
vertebras.
spina bifida
spina bifida aperta
spina bifida occulta
 Anomalies of number of
vertebras

Assimilation of atlas
Formation of cervical ribs
lumbalisation of
inferior ribs
formation of additional
ribs
sacralisation
lumbalisation
 Thorax
consists of 12 ribs,
thoracal vertebras and
sternum
 Walls of thorax

• anterior wall – sternum and costal cartilages

• posterior wall - thoracal vertebras and the back
ends of ribs,
• lateral -ribs
The upper aperture of thorax
• 5-6 sm * 10-12 sm
The lower aperture of thorax
• 13-15 sm* 25-28 sm
 Form of thorax

influences on the location of internal organs

 Form of thorax

Thorax index = the cross-section size / anterior-posterior size (in %)

• <130 - a narrow thorax (the infrasternal angle is sharp)

• > 140 - a wide thorax (the infrasternal angle is wide)
 Anomalies of development of ribs
Anomalies of form of ribs
Anomalies of numbers of ribs
- Absence of rib
- Additional rib
- Hypoplasia of ribs
 Anomalies of
development of sternum
 Anomal forms of chest
• - «breast of the shoemaker»
• - «chicken breast»
• - «kyfotic breast»
• - «lordotic breasr»
• - «flat breast»
• - «emphysemous breast»
 Craniology is a science about a skull.

Medical craniology

Skulls differ: the newborn, the

adult and the old man; men
and women; normostenic,
astenic and hyperstenic
Hystory of craniology
• The Ancient Greece - (Aristotle -
3-4 century) spent lifetime
trepanations of skull
• Hyppoktat (3-4 century) has
described three forms of head
doliho - meso- and brachicrania.
• Klavdy Galen (2 century) has
described kinds of fontaneills
and skull apertures.
• Leonardo da Vincis (15 century)
and Anrej Vezaly (16 century)
have described separate bones of
skull.
 Borders of skull

Borders between the cerebral

skull and the skull basis
Bones of cerebral skull
• frontal
• parietal
• temporal
• sphenoidal
• ethmoidal
• occipital
 Bones of facial skull

• upper jaw
• lower jaw
• nasal bone
• lacrimal bone
• inferior nasal concha
• palatine bone
• zygomatic bone
• hyoid bone
• vomer
 Classification of types of skull

On cross-section - longitudinal index

• mesocranial 75 - 79,9
• dolychocranial <75
• brachicranial 80 and more
Anterior cranial fossa
Medial cranial fossa
Posterior cranial fossa
 Orbita

Connections
• With medial cranial fossa
• - optic canal
• - upper orbital fissura
• With infratemporal fossa
• - lower orbital fissura
• With nasal cavity
• - anterior ethmoidal foramen
• - nasolacrimal canal
 Nasal cavitas
• Has three walls and septum.
• The lateral wall is formed by six bones
• - upper jaw body
• - inferior nasal concha
• - labyrinths of ethmoidal bone
• - sphenoidal bone
• - perpendicular plate of palatal bone
• The upper wall is formed by 3 bones:
• - horisontal plate of ethmoidal bone
• - nasal part of frontal bone
• - body of sphenoidal bone
• The inferior wall is formed by 2 bones
• - Palatal
• - palatal processus of upper jaw
 Connections of nasal cavitas
• Facial area (nostril)
• The superior nasal meatus
(shenopalatal aperture, posterior
cells of ethmoidal bone,
sphenoidal sinus)
• middle nasal meatus (frontal,
maxillar sinus, anterior and middle
cells of ethmoidal bone)
• sphenoid-palatal fossa (sphenoid-
palatal aperture)
• Oral cavity (incisival canal)
• Nasopharynx (choans)
 Temporal fossa, fossa temporalis

Has three walls:

• Medial (temporal bone)
• Anterior (sygomatic bone)
• Lateral (zygomatic arch)
 Infratemporal fossa, fossa infratemporalis

Has four walls:

• Upper (temporal bone and the
greater wing of sphenoidal bone)
• Medial (lateral plate of pterygoid
processus of sphenoidal bone)
• Lower (upper jaw)
• Lateral (zygomatic arch and
ramus of the lower jaw)
 Connections of infratemporal fossa

• Orbita (lower orbital

fissura)
• Pterygopalatine fossa
(pterygopalatine fissura)
 Pterygopalatine fossa
Connections
• orbita(the lower orbital fissura)
• nasal cavity (sphenoid-palatine
aperture)
• oral cavity (the majorand sminor
palatal canals)
• middle cranial fossa (round foramen)
• external basis of skull (sphenoidal
canal)
 Paranasal sinuses
• Maxillar - 15-40 sm ³
• Frontal-5-18 sm ³
• Sphenoidal -5-12 sm ³
• Cells of ethmoidal bone-10 - 20 sm ³

Role of paranasal sinuses:

• Thermoregulation
• The voice resonator
• Protection (visual, acoustical and vestibular
analyzers)
• Ease of skull bones
• Increase of olfactory surface
 Features of structure of skull of the newborn

• Volume of cerebral skull

more in 8 times (at the
adult 4: 1)
Features of structure of skull of the newborn

• Between bones of cerebral skull there are

layers of fibrous tissue - fontaneils (six)
and sutures (flat, rather wide)
 Features of structure of skull of the newborn
• On frontal, parietal bones there are ossification
points
• Parts of bones (occipital, frontal, sphenoidal, upper
and lower jaws) are connected by cartilage
• The paranasal sinuse are absent (except of maxillar
sinus)
• The bones are very thin, without diploe
• There is no external relief (grooves, tubecules)
 Changes in skull after birth

• Fontaneils are closed (posterior – on the 1-2nd month,

sphenoidal and mastoidal throughout first three
months after a birth, anterior - on 2nd year of life). Too
big size, later closing of them causes rachitizm or
hydrocephaly.
• Parts of bones are fused
• The pneumatisation of bones appears
• Diploe develops
• The external relief is developed
 Development of the skull bones

• Bones of the cerebral skull are developed in 2

phases (fibrous and bony)
• The inferior, upper jaw and hearing bones
(malleus,uncus) - from Mekkels cartilage (1st
visceral arch)
• Hypoglossal bone and stapes - from the
cartilage of the 2nd visceral arche
• Bones of the basis of skull are developed in 3
stages (fibrous, cartilagineous, bony)
• Cartilages - capsules - nasal, orbital,
auricular, prechondral, parachondral,
occipital are formed.
• From the nasal the ethmoidal bone and
inferior nasal concha are formed
• From orbital and prechondralsphenoid bone is
formed
• From auricular and parachondral the
temporal bone is formed
• From occipital occipital bone is formed
- additional bones
(interparietal bone, bones
of sutures, incisivus bone)
- additional apertures and
canals
cyclopy,
microstomia,
micrognatia
anencephaly,
hydrocephaly,
microcephaly
assimilation of atlantis
deformation of skull
 Research methods in craniology

• Cranioscopy
• Craniometry
• X-Ray examination
• Computer tomography
Thank you for attention!