Functions of the skeletal system

Support: form the framework that supports the body and cradles soft organs
Protection: provide a protective case for the brain, spinal cord, and vital organs
Movement: provide levers for muscles
Storage: reservoir for minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus
Blood cell production: hematopoiesis occurs within the
marrow cavities of bones

Components of Skeletal System Structures

• Bone
• Cartilage: reduce friction and model for bone formation
• Tendons: attach bone to muscle
• Ligaments: attach bone to bone
• Bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments are connective tissues.

Composition
 Proteoglycans:

• large polysaccharides attached to proteins

• part of ground substance
• store water
Bone’s extracellular matrix is collagen and minerals (flexible and able to bear weight)
Cartilage’s extracellular matrix is collagen and proteoglycans (good shock absorber)
Tendons and ligaments’ extracellular matrix is collagen (very tough)

Classification of Bones
Individual bones are classified according to their shape
Based on shape: long, short, flat, irregular
Type of bone tissue: compact and spongy (cancellous)
1. Long bones
• Longer than they are wide
• Most bones of the upper and lower limbs
2. Short bones
• About as wide as they are long
• Bones of the wrist (carpals) and ankle (tarsals)
3. Flat bones
• Relatively thin, flattened shape and are usually curved
• Certain bones of the skull, all the ribs, the breastbone
(sternum), and the shoulder blades (scapulae)
4. Irregular bones
• Do not fit into the other three categories
Vertebrae, pelvic girdle and facial bones

Structure of Bones
 
Parts of a Long Bone
 Diaphysis
Tubular shaft that forms the axis of long bones
• Composed of compact bone that surrounds the medullary cavity
• Yellow bone marrow (fat) is contained in the medullary cavity
• Not to the same extent, but certain bones also contain red
marrow
 Epiphyses
• Expanded ends of long bones
• Exterior is compact bone, and the interior is spongy bone
• Joint surface is covered with articular (hyaline) cartilage
Epiphyseal line separates the diaphysis from the epiphyses
Epiphyseal plate is the site of bone growth in length
Epiphyseal plate becomes the epiphyseal line when all of its cartilage is
replaced with bone
Structure of Flat, Short, and Irregular Bones
Flat bones contain an interior framework of cancellous bone
sandwiched between two layers of compact bone
Short and Irregular bones have a composition similar to the ends of
long bones
Bone Membranes
• Periosteum: double layer of protective membrane covering
the outer surface of bone
Outer fibrous layer is dense regular connective tissue, which contains
blood vessels and nerves
 
• Inner osteogenic layer contains osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and
osteochondral progenitor cells
 
• Endosteum: delicate membrane covering internal surfaces of
bone
Contains osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteochondral progenitor cells

Histology of Bone
 
Bone Cells
1. Osteoblasts (bone forming cells) produce bone matrix and become osteocytes. Osteoblasts connect to one another
through cell processes and surround themselves with bone matrix to become osteocytes. Osteoblasts originate from
osteochondral progenitor cells
2. Osteocytes (bone cells) are located in lacunae and are connected to one another through canaliculi
3. Osteoclasts (bone destroying cells) break down bone. Osteoclasts originate from stem cells in red bone marrow

T
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major types of bone tissue found throughout the skeleton:

Bone can be classified according

to the amount of bone matrix
relative to the amount of space
present within the bone: 

1. Compact Bone

• Location: outer part of

diaphysis (long bones)
and thinner surfaces of
other bones

Osteon: structural unit of

compact bone
• includes lamella, lacunae, canaliculus, central canal, osteocytes
• Lamella: rings of bone matrix
• Lacunae: spaces between lamella
• Canaliculus: tiny canals transport nutrients and remove waste
• Central canal: center of osteon contains blood vessels