L E C T U R E

10
The Skeletal System

Mark Christopher Caron

Lecturer Chapter ??
 The Skeletal System

• The skeletal system includes:

– All bones on the skeletal system
– Joints where these bones meet
– The cartilage and ligaments associated with the joint
structures

• Skeletal System Partition

– Axial skeleton
– Appendicular skeleton
The Skeletal System
Functions of the Skeletal System
 Bones
• Account for about 16% of an adult’s total
body weight
• Composed of two different types of bony
tissue:
– Cortical or compact bone (dense)
– Cancellous or spongy bone (porous)

• Great compressive, tensile and shear

strength
• Innervated and supplied with blood
Bone Anatomy and Classification

• Bones come in a variety of shape and sizes.

• Mechanical stresses and function

determines the bone form.

• Bones are classified according to their

shape.
 Types of Bones

• Long Bones

• Short Bones

• Flat Bones

• Irregular Bones

• Sesamoid Bones
Structure of a Long Bone
Structures of Bones
 Structures of Bones
• Condyle – a rounded projection that articulates with
another bone.
• Epicondyle – a rounded projection near ends of a long
bone but lateral to the axis and not necessarily part of
the articulation.
• Facet – a small, smooth, and usually flat articular
surface.
• Foramen – a hole, usually for the nerves or vessels to
pass through.
• Fossa – a hollow depression or pit.
• Fovea – a smaller hollow depression or pit.
• Head – the spherical articular end of a long bone.
 Structures of Bones
• Line – a raised line or small ridge.
• Neck – the part of the bone that joints the head to the
shaft.
• Notch – an indentation on the border or edge of a bone.
• Process – a projecting part of the bone.
• Spine – a sharp projecting part of the bone.
• Trochanter – a large, knobby projection.
• Tubercle – a small, knobby projection.
• Tuberosity – a knobby projection
 Growth and Development of Long
Bones
• Long bones develop via endochondral
ossification: Cartilage is replaced by bone.
• Structure of Bones during Birth
– Epiphyseal cartilage – the cartilage that separates
the ends of the bines from the rest of the bone.
(epiphyseal plate, growth plate)
– Epiphysis – the separate end of the bone.
– Diaphysis – the remaining part of the bone on the
other side of the epiphyseal cartilage.
Growth and Development of Long
Bones
 Growth and Development of Long
Bones

• Epiphyseal cartilage are responsible for the

growth in length of long bones.
• Ossification dictates bone growth
• Epiphyseal plate closure
– Occurs naturally at specific ages for each bone.
– Most ossify during puberty but some may close until
after age 25.
Growth and Development of Long
Bones
 Growth and Development of Long
Bones

• Growth at the epiphyseal plate is affected

by the stresses occurring in the site.
• Certain hormones affect the growth at the
epiphyseal plate.
– Sex hormones increase the rate of cartilage
replacement that leads to closure of the plates.
 Joints
• A joint or articulation is any place where
two bones meet or join.
• Functions of joints:
– Join bones together while controlling the motion
allowed between them.
– Transfer forces between bones.

• The two competing functions, force

transferral and motion control, lead to
interesting structural designs of joints.
 Joint Classification

• Joint classification scheme is based on

joint structure or function.
• Three general groups:
– Fibrous joints
– Cartilaginous joints
– Synovial/Diarthrodial joints

• Most joints in the appendicular skeleton are

synovial joints.
Joint Classification
 Types of Diarthrodial Joints

• Plane or Gliding Joint

• Hinge joint
• Pivot joint
• Condylar joint
• Ellipsoid joint
• Saddle joint
• Ball and socket joint
• Other types
– Synarthrodial or fibrous joint

– Amphiarthrodial or cartilaginous joint

 Structure of Synovial Joints

• Articular capsule
– The distinguishing characteristic of a synovial joint
– It is a ligamentous tissue that sorrounds the joint.
– It attaches to the bones, and connect them.
• Articular cartilage
– A thin layer of hyaline cartilage that covers the
articulating ends of the bones.
• Synovial membrane
– Lines the other exposed surface of the articular capsule.
Structure of Synovial Joints
 Structure of Synovial Joints

• Functions of synovial fluid:

– Lubricate the joint and reduce friction
– To nourish the articular cartilage.
– Cleanses the joint cavity
– Imparts some hydrostatic shock-absorbing
properties to the joint.
 Structure of Synovial Joints

• Functions of articular cartilage

– Bearing surface between moving bones
– Improves bone-to-bone fit at the joint.
– Increase joint stability and reducing pressure when
the joint is loaded.
– Reduces friction and prevents wear.
– Provides some shock absorption
 Stability of Synovial Joints

• Joint stability
– refers to movements of the bones in planes other
than those defined by the degrees of freedom of
movement for the joint or movement of the
articulating surface away from each other through
shear dislocation (sliding laterally) or traction
dislocation (pulling apart)
• Stability of a Hinge Joint
– Refer to its ability to resist abduction and adduction,
internal and external rotation, or dislocation.
 Stability of Synovial Joints

• Joint Flexibility
– Refers to the range of motion possible in planes of
motion defined by the degrees of freedom of
movement for the joint and how easily these motions
can occur.

• Flexibility of a Hinge Joint

– Refers to its range of motion in flexion and extension
and the ease of these movements.
 Stability of Synovial Joints

• The reciprocal concave and convex shapes

of the articulating ends of the bones are
primarily responsible for determining the
planes of motion allowed at the joint.
• The tighter the bone-to-bone fit and the
deeper the matching parts, the stable the
joint.
 Stability of Synovial Joints

• Whereas the articulating bones resist

compressive and shear forces at joints, the
ligaments provide the tensile forces to resist
traction dislocations when something tends to
pull the bones apart at the joint.
• Most joints have ligaments as well to
strengthen the joint to resist dislocating
torques or traction forces.
• Locations of ligaments relative to the joint they
protect determine the stability of the joint to
bending loads that may cause dislocation.
Stability of Synovial Joints
 Stability of Synovial Joints
• Tendons and the muscles attached to
them also resist tensile forces.
• They generate forces to pull the bones
of a joint more tightly together.
 Stability of Synovial Joints
• However, in certain joint positions, the
muscle may actually create forces that
tend to dislocate rather than stabilize the
joint.
 Stability of Synovial Joint

• The pressure of the joint cavity also

contribute slightly to the stability of
synovial joints.
• Pressure is less inside the cavity thus
creating a suction force.
 Flexibility of Synovial Joints

• Joint flexibility
– Refers to the range of motion in the planes in which
the joint is designed to move.

• Range of motion is affected by:

– Bones
– Ligaments
– Muscles
 Flexibility of Synovial Joints

• ROM is limited by the extensibility of the

muscles that cross the joint.

• Muscle the crosses multiple joint may not

be able to stretch far enough to allow full
ROM.
 Flexibility of Synovial Joints

• Ligaments limits ROM when they do not

align radially with respect to an axis of the
joint.

• The shape of the articulating bones also

limit ROM.

• Bulkiness of soft tissue or clothing limits

ROM.
 Mobility of Synovial Joints

• Mobility is affected by:

– Friction within the joint
– Inertia and tension of the muscles around the joint
(antagonist muscles)
– Wearing and damage to the articular cartilage
– Damage to the synovial membrane and capacity to
produce synovial fluid
– Arthritic disease