General functions

Question 1

Support and protection

Answer 1

Bones provide structural support and serve as a framework for the entire body. They also protect many delicate tissues and organs from injury and trauma.

Question 2

Movement

Answer 2

Bones serve as attachment sites for skeletal muscles, other soft tissues, and some organs. Muscles attached to the bones of the skeleton contract and exerts a pool on the Skelton that then functions as a system of levers. The bones of the skeleton can alter the direction and magnitude of the forces generated by the skeletal muscles. Potential movements range from powerful contractions needed for running and jumping up to delicate and precise movements required to remove a splinter from the finger.

Question 3

Hemopoiesis

Answer 3

The process of blood cell production. It occurs in red bone marrow connective tissue that contains stem cells that form blood cells and platelets.

Question 4

Storage of mineral and energy reserves

Answer 4

Most of the bodies reserves of the minerals calcium and phosphate are stored within and then released from bone. Calcium is an essential mineral for such body functions as muscle contraction, blood clotting, and nervous signal transmission. Phosphate is required for ATP utilization and is important component of the plasma membrane. When calcium or phosphate is needed for the body, some bone connective tissue is broken down, and the minerals are released into the blood.