Skeletal Structure Flashcards
Functions of the skeleton
- Provide a framework for other body tissues to build upon
- Acts as a lever for the muscles to work against
- Protects vital organs
- Acts as a storehouse for calcium and phosphorus
- 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)
Name 4 supportive tissues
- Bone
- Cartilage
- Ligaments
- Tendons
What two inorganic calcium salts is bone mainly composed of?
- Calcium phosphate
- Calcium carbonate
What is the organic matter of bone called?
Ossein
When is the proportion of organic matter high?
In a young horse
Approximately what percentage of organic matter is a young horses bone composed of?
Approximately 60%
What happens to the organic matter content in older horses?
The organic content is reduced and bones become more brittle
Bone is a living tissues and is responsive to environmental changes such as…
Changes in physical loading, blood supply and nutrition
Short bones, at the end of long bones produce…
Red and white blood corpucles
Short bones have … in their cavities
Red bone marrow
Long bones have … in their cavities
Yellow bone marrow and facilitate the storage of fat
Characteristics of long bones
- Include the bones of the limbs
- Act as supportingcolumns and levers
- Has two enlarged ends (epiphyses) provider a greater bearing surface for the joint
- Bony protrusions act as attachment sites for muscle, tendons and ligaments
What is the purpose of the epiphyses?
They provide a greater bearing surface for the joint rendering it less liable to dislocation
Characteristics of short bones
- Includes the carpal (knee) and tarsal (hock) bones
- When found at a joint they act as shock absorbers
Characteristics of flat bones
- Includes the cranial plates and scapula
- Protects underlying organs
Characteristics of irregular bones
- Includes the bones of the pelvis and the vertebral column
- Large number of projections for muscle and tendon attachment
- Any bone which does not fall into the other three categories
What is the purpose of the epiphyseal disc?
To separate the diaphysis (shaft) from the epiphysis (articular enlargement)
When does growth through the epiphyseal plate stop?
When cartilage cells stop multiplying and fusion of the diaphysis and epiphysis occurs, timing of this varies in individual bones
What membrane covers all bones with the exception of articular ends?
Periosteum
How many bones does a normal adult skeleton consist of?
205-207
What Is the skeleton divided into?
The axial skeleton- skull and spine
Appendicular skeleton- limbs
What two parts is the skull divided into?
The cranium, which houses and protects the brain and the face which encloses the nasal and oral cavities
What are the immovable, fused bones of the skull known as?
Skull sutures
What is the ‘bony partition’ of the skull called?
The internal occipital proterberance
Where does the spinal cord lie?
In the spinal canal and continues into the hind brain through an opening in the skull known as the foramen magnum
What bones lie within the nasal cavity?
The turbinate bones
What is the purpose of the turbinate bones?
They are covered in a mucus-secreting tissue (epithelium) which warms, filters and moistens the inspired air
What bones lie within the oral cavity?
The hard plate, the soft plate and the hyoid bone
