HUMAN AND SOCIAL BIOLOGY

WEEK 15
MOVEMENT IN THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

▪ Do you remember what is movement?

▪ Movement in humans is brought about by skeletal muscles working

across joints.
Skeletal Muscles

▪ Skeletal muscles consist of bundles of

multinucleate (having more than one nucleus)
muscle fibers which are surrounded by connective
tissue. Tendons attach these muscles to the bones
of the skeleton.
JOINTS
▪ A joint is formed where two
bones meet.
▪ Most joints allow the rigid
skeleton to move. There are
three types of joints:
▪ 1. Fixed joints or fibrous joints.
The bones are joined firmly
together by fibrous connective
tissue which allows no
movement, e.g. the cranium is
made of several bones joined
by fixed or immovable joints.
2. Partially movable joints or cartilaginous joints.
The bones are separated by cartilage pads which
allow
slight movement, e.g. the vertebrae are separated
by intervertebral discs of cartilage.
3. Moveable joints or synovial joints.
The articulating surfaces of the bones
are covered with articular
cartilage and synovial fluid fills the joint
cavity between the bones. The bones
are held together by
ligaments.
There are two types of moveable
joints:
1. Hinge Joints
2. Ball and Socket Joints
Hinge joints are formed when the
ends of the bones meet. They allow
movement in one plane (direction)
only. This limited movement provides
strength and the joints are capable of
bearing heavy loads, e.g. the elbow,
knee, finger and toe joints.

1. HINGE JOINTS
Ball and socket joints are formed
where a ball at the end of one
bone fits into a socket in the
other bone. They allow rotational
movement in all planes. The free
range of movement provides less
support and makes the joints
more susceptible to dislocation
than a hinge joint, e.g. the
shoulder and hip joints.

2. BALL AND SOCKET JOINTS

MOVEMENT OF A LIMB

▪ When a muscle contracts it exerts a pull, but it cannot exert a push

when it relaxes. Therefore, two muscles, known as an antagonistic
pair, are always needed to produce movement at a moveable joint:
▪ • The flexor muscle is the muscle that bends the joint when it
contracts.
▪ • The extensor muscle is the muscle that straightens the joint when it
contracts.
MOVEMENT OF A LIMB

▪ Both muscles are attached by tendons at one of their ends to a bone

that does not move and at the other end to a bone that does move.
▪ The origin of a muscle is the attachment point of the end of the
muscle to a bone that does not move during contraction.
▪ The insertion of a muscle is the attachment point of the end of the
muscle to the bone that moves during contraction.
▪ The origin is usually as far away as possible from the joint and the
insertion is usually very close to the joint.
MOVEMENT OF THE ELBOW JOINT

▪ The biceps and triceps muscles move the radius and ulna causing the
elbow joint to bend or straighten:
▪ • The biceps is the flexor muscle. Its origin is on the scapula which
does not move, and its insertion is on the radius close to the elbow
joint.
▪ • The triceps is the extensor muscle. Its origin is on the scapula and
top of the humerus which do not move, and its insertion is on the
ulna close to the elbow joint.
▪ To bend the elbow joint, the biceps contracts and the triceps relaxes.
To straighten the elbow joint, the triceps contracts and the biceps
relaxes.
MOVEMENT OF THE ELBOW JOINT
THE EFFECT OF EXERCIZE ON THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

Exercise has many benefits:

• It improves muscle tone, which is the unconscious low-level contraction of muscles while they are
at rest. Good muscle tone is important because it maintains balance and a good, upright posture,
and it keeps muscles in an active state ready for coordinated action.
• It increases production of synovial fluid in joints which keeps joints healthy, reduces friction and
increases flexibility.
• It improves the strength and elasticity of ligaments, which increases the range of movement at
joints.
• It stimulates the growth of muscle tissue, which increases muscle size and strength.
• It encourages bone to lay down more mineral matter so bones become denser and stronger, which
reduces the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
 FACTORS AFFECTING THE SKELETAL SYSTEM
1. Poor posture
Posture refers to the relative position of the different parts of the body. A
poor posture strains muscles and causes them to need more energy to keep
the body upright, which leads to fatigue and backache.

It also changes the curvature of the spine, which leads to back, neck and
shoulder pain, puts stress on certain joints and wears down the intervertebral
discs in the spine causing a decrease in height.
Poor posture also causes major organs to become compressed and to
function less efficiently.

Compression of the lungs and airways makes breathing less efficient,

compression of the digestive system makes it harder to digest food, and
compression of blood vessels makes it harder for blood to circulate properly.
2. Poor foot-wear
Wearing shoes with high heels causes the body weight to shift
forwards to the ball of the foot, leading to painful arches and a
change in the curvature of the spine, which causes bad posture and
can result in lower back pain. High heels also cause calf muscles to
shorten and bulge, and place excess pressure on knee and hip
joints.
Wearing badly fitting shoes, narrow pointed shoes or high heels
can lead to corns, bunions, hammer toe or ingrown toenails.
3. Obesity
Extra weight puts strain on the skeleton,
especially the joints. This causes
cartilage to wear down and leads to
arthritis.
 4. An unbalanced diet
A diet deficient in vitamin D leads to rickets in
children and osteomalacia in adults.
A diet deficient in calcium leads to rickets in
children and osteoporosis in adults.
A diet deficient in protein can cause a decrease
in bone density and muscle mass.

(Osteomalacia describes a disorder of “bone softening”

in adults that is usually due to prolonged deficiency of
vitamin D. This results in abnormal osteoid
mineralization. In contrast, rickets describes deficient
mineralization at the cartilage of growth plates in
children.)
 THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCO MOTION IN HUMANS

Many human activities involve locomotion, i.e. movement from one

place to another.
Locomotion is essential for work and recreation, to find food, to find a
partner for reproduction, to escape from danger, to avoid being
overcrowded and for exercise to keep the body healthy.
Walking on their two hindlimbs means humans can use their forelimbs
and hands for other activities, e.g. manipulating tools and writing.
ASSIGNMENT

▪ Complete the revision questions on pages 61 and 62.