Skeletal Structure

Question 1

Functions of the skeleton

Answer 1

1. Provide a framework for other body tissues to build upon
2. Acts as a lever for the muscles to work against
3. Protects vital organs
4. Acts as a storehouse for calcium and phosphorus
5. Red and white blood cells are produced in certain bones (e.g. The ribs, flat bones of the skull and long bones of the limbs)

Question 2

Name 4 supportive tissues

Answer 2

1. Bone
2. Cartilage
3. Ligaments
4. Tendons

Question 3

What two inorganic calcium salts is bone mainly composed of?

Answer 3

1. Calcium phosphate
2. Calcium carbonate

Question 4

What is the organic matter of bone called?

Answer 4

Ossein

Question 5

When is the proportion of organic matter high?

Answer 5

In a young horse

Question 6

Approximately what percentage of organic matter is a young horses bone composed of?

Answer 6

Approximately 60%

Question 7

What happens to the organic matter content in older horses?

Answer 7

The organic content is reduced and bones become more brittle

Question 8

Bone is a living tissues and is responsive to environmental changes such as…

Answer 8

Changes in physical loading, blood supply and nutrition

Question 9

Short bones, at the end of long bones produce…

Answer 9

Red and white blood corpucles

Question 10

Short bones have … in their cavities

Answer 10

Red bone marrow

Question 11

Long bones have … in their cavities

Answer 11

Yellow bone marrow and facilitate the storage of fat

Question 12

Characteristics of long bones

Answer 12

1. Include the bones of the limbs
2. Act as supportingcolumns and levers
3. Has two enlarged ends (epiphyses) provider a greater bearing surface for the joint
4. Bony protrusions act as attachment sites for muscle, tendons and ligaments

Question 13

What is the purpose of the epiphyses?

Answer 13

They provide a greater bearing surface for the joint rendering it less liable to dislocation

Question 14

Characteristics of short bones

Answer 14

1. Includes the carpal (knee) and tarsal (hock) bones
2. When found at a joint they act as shock absorbers

Question 15

Characteristics of flat bones

Answer 15

1. Includes the cranial plates and scapula
2. Protects underlying organs

Question 16

Characteristics of irregular bones

Answer 16

1. Includes the bones of the pelvis and the vertebral column
2. Large number of projections for muscle and tendon attachment
3. Any bone which does not fall into the other three categories

Question 17

What is the purpose of the epiphyseal disc?

Answer 17

To separate the diaphysis (shaft) from the epiphysis (articular enlargement)

Question 18

When does growth through the epiphyseal plate stop?

Answer 18

When cartilage cells stop multiplying and fusion of the diaphysis and epiphysis occurs, timing of this varies in individual bones

Question 19

What membrane covers all bones with the exception of articular ends?

Answer 19

Periosteum

Question 20

How many bones does a normal adult skeleton consist of?

Answer 20

205-207

Question 21

What Is the skeleton divided into?

Answer 21

The axial skeleton- skull and spine
Appendicular skeleton- limbs

Question 22

What two parts is the skull divided into?

Answer 22

The cranium, which houses and protects the brain and the face which encloses the nasal and oral cavities

Question 23

What are the immovable, fused bones of the skull known as?

Answer 23

Skull sutures

Question 24

What is the ‘bony partition’ of the skull called?

Answer 24

The internal occipital proterberance

Question 25

Where does the spinal cord lie?

Answer 25

In the spinal canal and continues into the hind brain through an opening in the skull known as the foramen magnum

Question 26

What bones lie within the nasal cavity?

Answer 26

The turbinate bones

Question 27

What is the purpose of the turbinate bones?

Answer 27

They are covered in a mucus-secreting tissue (epithelium) which warms, filters and moistens the inspired air

Question 28

What bones lie within the oral cavity?

Answer 28

The hard plate, the soft plate and the hyoid bone