osteology Flashcards
What is osteology?
The study of human bones
It involves recovering, analyzing, and interpreting human remains.
List three applications of osteology.
- Historical/archaeological contexts
- Paleontological contexts
- Recent contexts (e.g., medico-legal investigations)
What can we learn from osteological analyses?
- Biological evidence of our evolutionary past
- Aspects of health, disease, nutrition, migration
- Details of an individual (sex, age, height, etc.)
- How they lived (diet, lifestyle, injuries, diseases, etc.)
- How they died (natural causes, accident, suicide, murder, etc.)
Define anatomical terminology.
Essential for visualizing, describing, and discussing anatomy in a consistent, precise, and unambiguous way.
What are the standard anatomical positions?
- Standing straight, facing forward
- Feet parallel and toes forward
- Arms at sides with palms facing forward, thumbs towards the outside
What is the sagittal plane?
Divides the body into right and left halves.
What does the coronal or frontal plane divide?
Divides the body into front and rear halves.
Fill in the blank: The _______ plane divides the body into upper and lower halves.
[transverse/horizontal plane]
Define the term ‘proximal’.
Features that are nearer to the trunk of the body.
What are the two types of movements that muscles can perform?
- Paired movements
- Unpaired movements
What are the paired movements?
- Flexion and extension
- Dorsiflexion and plantarflexion
- Eversion and inversion
- Abduction and adduction
- Pronation and supination
Define the term ‘circumduction’.
Circular or conical movement of a body part, usually at a ball and socket joint.
What are the types of bones based on shape?
- Long bones
- Short bones
- Flat bones
- Irregular bones
What is the function of the skeleton?
- Support structure for the body
- Movement and locomotion
- Protection of vital organs
- Blood cell production
- Storage of chemicals
What are the two main divisions of the human skeleton?
- Axial skeleton
- Appendicular skeleton
What is the composition of bone?
- Protein (collagen)
- Mineral (hydroxyapatite)
Define osteogenic cells.
Progenitor/stem cells that develop into osteoblasts.
What are osteoblasts responsible for?
Bone-forming cells that secrete osteoid protein to build new bone layer.
True or False: Osteocytes are mature osteoblasts responsible for bone maintenance.
True
Fill in the blank: The unmineralized, organic portion of the bone matrix is called _______.
[osteoid]
What are the four cell types in bone tissue?
- Osteogenic cells
- Osteoblasts
- Osteocytes
- Osteoclasts
What is lamellar bone characterized by?
Regular parallel alignment of collagen into sheets (lamellae) and is mechanically strong.
What is the Haversian system?
The structural unit of compact bone.
What are the types of joints based on mobility?
- Synovial (most mobile)
- Cartilaginous
- Fibrous (least mobile)
What defines synovial joints?
Freely movable joints with bony surfaces covered in articular cartilage and filled with synovial fluid.
What is the difference between primary and secondary osteons?
- Primary osteon: Composed of a vascular canal without a cement line
- Secondary osteon: Cement line and lamellar bone organized around the central canal
