Medicină I – Seminarul 17

THE SKELETAL-MUSCULAR SYSTEM

THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

The function of the skeletal system is to provide a supporting and protecting framework for the
body and its internal organs. It provides attachment for muscles and is the site for production of red
blood cells.
Classification of bone is according to shape i.e. long, short, flat, irregular, sesamoid.

framework - cadru, bază, structură

to attach - a atașa, a lega, a fixa, a monta, a conecta, a anexa
attached - fix
attachment - inserție, fixare, stabilizare, ancorare; dispozitiv de fixare în dentistică
muscle attachment - inserție musculară
bone (syn.) os (pl. ossa) - os
flat bone - os plat, os lat
floating bone - os flotant
irregular bone - os neregulat
long bone (syn.) pipe bone - os lung
sesamoid bone - os sesamoid
short bone - os scurt

Long bones are those of the limbs and have a shaft with articular surfaces at each end. The
periphery of the shaft being compact bone and the ends and center of the shaft being spongy cancellous
bone. Compact bone is the surface layer of bone, being hard and dense, resembling ivory. Cancellous
bone has the same microscopic structure as compact bone but appears as a spongy porous tissue. The
spaces in the cancellous bone are filled with red bone marrow in which blood cells are manufactured.
Short bones are roughly cuboidal and consist of spongy bone with a thin layer of compact bone
surrounding them. Examples are the small bones of wrist (carpal) and ankle (tarsal).
Flat bones consist of a thin layer of cancellous bone enclosed on each aspect by a layer of
compact bone which varies in thickness, i.e. bones of the skull, the shoulder blade (scapula) and pelvis
(ilium, ischium, pubis).
Irregular bones are as the name suggests but have cancellous bone with outer covering of
compact bone. Best examples are the vertebrae.
Sesamoid bones are “floating” bones found in tendons over joints but not directly connected
with a joint. The best example is the patella.
The outer surface of bone is covered with a membrane called periosteum which provides
nutriment and carries bone-forming cells for the repair of local injury or fractures. These are called
osteoblasts.

limb (syn.) member (syn.) membrum (pl. membra) - membru

inferior limb (syn.) lower limb - membru inferior
superior limb (syn.) upper limb - membru superior, membru toracic
shaft - arbore, tijă, ax; coadă, mâner; corp
cancellous - spongios
cancellous bone (syn.) trabecular bone - os spongios
ivory - fildeș; dentină; culoarea fildeșului
 ivory - din fildeș
microscope - microscop
under the microscope - la microscop
microscopic (syn.) microscopical - microscopic
microscopically - la microscop
to enclose - a închide, a îngrădi, a împrejmui; a anexa
ilium (pl. ilia) (syn.) flank bone - ilium, ilion, os iliac
ischium (pl. ischia) - ischion, os ischiadic
pubis (syn.) os pubis - pubis, os pubic
patella (pl. patellae) (syn.) knee cap - patelă, rotulă
patellar - patelar, rotulian
periosteum (pl. periostea) - periost
periosteal - periostal
osteoblast - osteoblast, celulă osoasă tânără

Names of the most important bones

In the skull in front - the “frontal” bone.
At the side - the temporal bone and parietal bone.
At the rear - the occipital bone.
The lower jaw (the movable part) - the mandible.
Other irregular bones within the skull have spaces within the bone which form, the sinuses
(frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid, maxillary).
The spine has four main sections:
Cervical vertebrae: 7 in the neck.
Thoracic vertebrae: 12 in the trunk.
Lumbar vertebrae: 5 lower back.
Sacrum and coccyx in the pelvis.

jaw -falcă, maxilar; clește

lower jaw (syn.) mandible - mandibulă, maxilar inferior
jaw fracture - fractură de maxilar, fractură de mandibulă
jaw line - forma mandibulei
upper jaw (syn.) maxilla (pl. maxillae) - maxilar superior, maxilar, maxilă
sinus (pl. sinus, sinuses) - sinus
ethmoidal sinuses - sinusuri etmoidale
frontal sinus - sinus frontal
maxillary sinus - sinus maxilar
sphenoidal sinus - sinus sfenoidal
vertebra (pl. vertebrae) - vertebră
cervical vertebrae [C1-C7] - vertebre cervicale
lumbar vertebrae [L1-L5] - vertebre lombare
sacral vertebrae [S1-S5] - vertebre sacrate
thoracic vertebrae [T1-T12] - vertebre toracice
coccyx (pl. coccyges) (syn.) tail bone - coccis
coccygeal - coccigian, coccigeu

Intervertebral discs: The bodies of vertebrae in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions are
separated from each other by intervertebral discs. These act as shock absorbers and permit limited
movement between the vertebrae. They are held in place by ligaments around the periphery of the
vertebral bodies.
Trunk: ribs - 12 pairs - form the walls of the thorax and permit the movements of respiration.
They protect the soft structures of the thorax (lungs, heart and major blood vessels). The lower ribs
give protection to the upper abdominal contents especially the liver and kidneys which sit high under
the cupola of the diaphragm. Other important bones in the trunk are the sternum or breast bone in front,
the clavicles or collar bones above, the scapulae or shoulder blades behind.
Pelvis: the sacrum lies behind consisting of a series of fused vertebrae with apertures to allow
the passage of nerves from the spinal cord to the pelvic organs and lower limbs. Three other large
irregular flat bones are called the ilium, ischium, pubis.
Upper limbs: the bone of the upper arm is called the humerus and is attached to the scapula at
the shoulder.
The bones of the lower arm consists of the radius and ulna, the carpal bones (wrist) the
metacarpals and phalanges (fingers).
Lower limbs: the thigh bone is called the femur and its head is located in a socket (the
acetabulum) in the pelvis forming the hip joint. The lower leg has two bones, the main one which does
all the weight bearing is the tibia. The smaller which helps to form the ankle joint and provides
attachment for muscles is the fibula. The small bones of the foot are the tarsals, metatarsals and
phalanges (toes).

intervertebral disk - disc intervertebral

to absorb - a absorbi, a suge, a înghiți; a îngloba, a încorpora, a integra
absorber - amortizor
absorption - absorbție, absorbire, aspirare; încorporare, înglobare, integrare
vessel - vas (de sânge sau limfatic)
vascular - vascular
socket - alveolă dentară; cavitate articulară, scobitură; orbită
acetabular - acetabular
acetabulum (pl. acetabula) - acetabulum, acetabul, cavitate cotiloidă, cotil
to weigh - a cântări
weighing - cântărire
weight - greutate, încărcătură
weight-bear(ing) - care susține greutatea corpului
to bear - a duce, a ține, a transporta; a suporta, a purta; a tolera, a răbda, a suferi

Joints
Joints are the places of union, usually more or less movable, between two or more bones. These
are in three main categories:
1. Fixed or immovable joints such as between the bones of the skull.
2. Slightly movable - cartilaginous joints such as lie between the ribs and the sternum (costo-
sternal) and the sacrum and the ilium (sacro-iliac).
3. Freely movable joints often referred to as synovial joints because of their structure. All such
joints which permit voluntary movement come under this heading.
A synovial joint consists of the following structures: two bone surfaces covered by articular
cartilage and an enclosing capsule of fibrous material lined with a synovial membrane. This membrane
secretes synovial fluid into the joint space to provide lubrication.
Joints are supported by a number of factors:
 1. Ligaments - bands or sheets of fibrous tissue. In addition to connecting two or more bones,
cartilages or other structures they act as supports for other body structures. In bone joints ligaments can
be both within the joint capsule and outside it.
2. Tendons of muscles passing over the joint - these consist of the fibrous tissue ends of muscles
whereby they are attached to the bone.
3. The shape of the opposing articular surfaces.
There are several types of movable joints:
1. Ball and socket (hip-shoulder)
2. Hinge (elbow-knee-ankle)
3. Gliding (intervertebral-tarsal and carpal joints)
4. Pivot joints in small bones (pivot provides rotation of the atlas on the axis. (1st and 2nd
cervical vertebrae)
5. Saddle joints permit a hinge-like movement with some side-to-side movement (the joint of
the 1st metacarpal with the carpal bone (thumb joint) is a saddle joint - permits a hinge-like movement
with some side to side movement).
6. Double-hinge (temporo-mandibular).

joint (syn.) articulation - articulație, încheietură; articulare dentară; articulare fonetică

arthrodial joint (syn.) plane joint (syn.) gliding joint - articulație plană, artrodie, articulație
artrodială
ball-and-socket joint (syn.) spheroid joint (syn.) enarthrosis - articulație sferoidă, articulație
sferoidală, enartroză
fibrous joint (syn.) immovable joint (syn.) synarthrodia - articulație fibroasă, sinatroză
fixed joint - articulație fixă, articulație imobilă
hinge joint (syn.) ginglymus - articulație “în balama”, ginglim, articulație trohleară
hip joint (syn.) thigh joint - articulație coxofemurală, articulație coxală
knuckle joint (syn.) knuckle - articulație a degetului, articulație metacarpofalangiană
pivot joint (syn.) trochoid joint - articulație de tip pivot, articulație trohoidă
saddle joint - articulație în șa, articulație selară
synovial joint (syn.) diarthrosis (pl. diarthroses) (syn.) movable joint - diartroză, articulație
sinovială
reference -referință, referire, trimitere
referral - scrisoare de trimitere
band - bandă, bandeletă, fașă, inel (ortodontic), fâșie
capsule - capsulă; cașetă, teacă
thumb (syn.) pollex (pl. pollices) (syn.) first finger - deget mare de la mână, police

Movements of joints
Medical terminology refers to certain movements of the body in a different language to that
used by laymen - certain of these terms should be known.
Bending is usually called flexion.
Stretching is usually called extension.
Turning is usually called rotation.
Moving the limb away from the body - abduction.
Bringing the limb back towards the body - adduction.
To move the arm or leg round in circles is called circumduction.
There are many variations on these movements and they are often associated with reference to
the plane or aspect of the body.
The front is called anterior.
 The rear is called posterior.
The side is called lateral (outside) medial (inside of the leg and arm) and there are combinations
of these, such as postero-lateral.

layman - profan, nespecialist

flexion - flexie, flexiune, îndoire, încovoiere, curbare, arcuire
extension - extensie, deflectare, extensiune
stretching - întindere, tragere, alungire
rotation - rotație, învârtire, rotire; stagiu; alternare
turning - rotație
to abduct - a abduce, a deriva
abduction - abducție
to adduct - a apropia de linia mediană (despre mușchi), a adduce
adduction - adducție, aducere, apropiere
circumduction - circumducție

THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Having examined the structure of bones and joints the next most important connecting
structures are the voluntary muscles. This term means that the muscles are under the control of the
central nervous system and can be activated at will. There are other types of muscles.
1. Involuntary - these are the muscles found in the walls of blood vessels, the bronchial tubes
and the gastro-intestinal tract. These are under the control of the autonomic nervous system.
2. Cardiac muscle which is involuntary but has different automatic methods of control by the
cardiac center in the brain and an intrinsic stimulating factor.
3. Voluntary muscles constitute approximately 40% of the body mass. Each muscle is made up
of a large number of separate fibres bound together in bundles by a sheath of connective tissue. The
whole muscle is enclosed by a sheet of fibrous tissue (fascia) which is continuous into the muscle
tendon by which the muscle is attached to bone at either end.

muscle - mușchi
involuntary muscle - mușchi involuntar
voluntary muscle - mușchi cu activitate voluntară, mușchi scheletic
intrinsic - intrinsec, interior, intern
binder - bandă, legătură, liant
binding - legare, bandaj
bound - legat, atașat, fixat
bundle - fascicul, legătură, pachet, mănunchi
sheath - teacă, toc; membrană, înveliș
fascia (pl. fasciae) - fascie, aponevroză, țesut conjunctiv
continuing (syn.) ongoing (syn.) lasting - continuu
continuing care - îngrijire continuă
continuing education - educație continuă
continuity - continuitate
continuous (syn.) continual (syn.) uninterrupted - continuu, neîntrerupt, constant

The fascia not only covers muscles but also separates them into groups - each group being
surrounded by it. Fascia also lies in areas of the body such as the neck and pelvis. There is also a layer
of thin fascia closely connected with the deep surface of the skin. On the palm of the hand and the sole
of the foot the fascia is considerably thickened to give support and protection to the deep structures.
Tendons are the fibrous ends of muscles attached directly to bone. They vary in their size and
proportion to the muscle concerned. A muscle is said to have a tendon of origin and a tendon of
insertion. It is the point of insertion which is closest to the joint which moves when the muscle is
contracted.
Tendons are sometimes separated from the bone below by pouches of synovial fluid called
bursae. A good example of this is the bursa lying below the tendon which passes over the front of the
knee joint, irritation of which gives rise to the swelling referred to as housemaid's knee.

palm - palmă
palmar - palmar, al palmei
sole (syn.) planta - talpă, călcâi, plantă
sole - singur, unic
to insert -a insera, a introduce
insertion - inserție, introducere, fixare, implantare
pouch (syn.) cul-de-sac (pl. culs-de-sac) - fund de sac, sac, reces, pungă
bursa (pl. bursae) - bursă, capsulă, reces, pungă
bursal - bursal
bursectomy - bursectomie
bursitis (syn.) bursal synovitis - bursită
prepatellar bursitis (syn.) housemaid’s knee - bursită prepatelară, genunchi de menajeră

Names or muscles
It is not necessary in the basic stage to know the names of many of the muscles of the body. It is
however worth knowing that they are usually in pairs and are described according to their function, i.e.
flexor, extensor, adductor and abductor. They are also known by the bones to which they are attached,
e.g. sterno-mastoid, intercostal.
General information
The strength of contraction is not as most people believe, a partial use of a muscle. The
contraction is initiated by stimulation of the motor end plates at which the stimulus from the central
nervous system arrives. Each fiber has its own motor end plate. The motor nerve arises in the anterior
horn cells of the spinal cord.
Each time one muscle contracts, its opponent (on the opposite side of the joint) relaxes. The
relaxation is involuntary and takes place by a nervous connection which is referred to as the reciprocal
innervation of muscle. For example, when the biceps contract to flex the elbow, the triceps muscle
relaxes.
All muscle has “tone” which is a state of partial contraction; it is this tone which helps to
maintain the appearance of the muscles in their healthy state. Loss of “tone” means that the muscles
have gone flabby. This results in delayed and inefficient movement.

to innervate - a inerva
innervated - inervat
innervation (syn.) nerve supply - inervație, inervare
arterial innervation - inervație arterială
double innervation - inervație dublă
reciprocal innervation - inervație reciprocă
flabby - flasc, moale, moleșit, fără vlagă