Skeletal System

Question 1

Axial skeleton

Answer 1

It is the bones of the skull, vertebral column, thorax, and sternum.

Question 2

Appendicular skeleton

Answer 2

It is the bones of the limbs and limb girdles that are attached to the axial skeleton.

Question 3

Compact bone

Answer 3

It is a dense bone that looks smooth and homogenous.

Question 4

Spongy bone

Answer 4

It is composed of small needlelike pieces of bone and lots of open spaces.

Question 5

Long bones

Answer 5

They are typically longer than they are wide, and they have a shaft with heads at both ends.

Question 6

Short bones

Answer 6

They are cube-shaped and contain mostly spongy bones; wrist and ankle bones are short bones.

Question 7

Flat bones

Answer 7

They are thin, flattened, and usually curved and have two thin layers of compact bone sandwiching a layer of spongy bone between them; most bones of the skull, ribs, and sternum are flat bones.

Question 8

Irregular bones

Answer 8

It is the vertebrate that makes up the spinal column; the hip bones fall into this group.

Question 9

Diaphysis

Answer 9

It makes up most of the bones’ length and is composed of compact bone.

Question 10

Periosteum

Answer 10

It is a dense, double-layer of vascular connective tissue that covers and nourishes the bone, except for at the surface of the joints.

Question 11

Epiphyseal line

Answer 11

The epiphysis is the end of a long bone. In adult bones, there is a thin line of body tissue spanning the epiphysis that looks a bit different from the rest of the bone in the area.

Question 12

Hematoma

Answer 12

Blood vessels are ruptured when the bone breaks. As a result, a blood-filling swelling called a hematoma forms and bone cells deprived of nutrition die.

Question 13

Cranium

Answer 13

It encloses and protects the fragile brain tissue; composed of 8 large flat bones, and except for 2 paired bones (the parietal and temporal) they are all single bones.

Question 14

Occipital bone

Answer 14

It is the most posterior bone of the cranium. It forms the floor and the back wall of the skull. It joins the partial bones anteriorly at the lambdoid suture.

Question 15

Vertebral column

Answer 15

Serving as the axial support of the body the vertebral column extends from the skull which it supports to the pelvis where it transmits the weight of the body to lower limbs.

Question 16

Vertebrae

Answer 16

The spine consists of 33 bones called vertebrae but 9 of these eventually fuse to form the two composite bones.

Question 17

Intervertebral discs

Answer 17

The single vertebrae are separated by these pads of flexible fibrocartilage which cushion the vertebrae and absorb shocks while allowing the spine flexibility.

Question 18

Cervical vertebrae

Answer 18

It forms the neck region of the spine.

Question 19

Thoracic vertebrae

Answer 19

They are all typically larger than the cervical vertebrae.

Question 20

Lumbar vertebrae

Answer 20

The 5 lumbar vertebrae have massive, blocklike bodies.

Question 21

Sacrum

Answer 21

It is formed by the fusion of 5 vertebrae.

Question 22

Coccyx

Answer 22

It is formed from the fusion of 3-5 tiny irregularly shaped vertebrae. It is the human “tailbone”, a remnant of the tail that other vertebrae animals have.

Question 23

Sternum

Answer 23

It is also known as the breastbone and is typically a flat bone and the result of the fusion of 3 bones.

Question 24

Ribs

Answer 24

There are 12 pairs of ribs forming the walls of the bony thorax.

Question 25

Clavicle

Answer 25

It is the slender, doubly curved bone and it attaches to the manubrium of the sternum medially.

Question 26

Scapulae

Answer 26

It is triangular and is commonly called “wings” because they flare when we move our arms posteriorly.

Question 27

Humerus

Answer 27

It is the single bone that forms the arm and is a typical long bone.

Question 28

Radius

Answer 28

When the body is in the anatomical position, the radius is the lateral bone that is on the thumb side of the forearm.

Question 29

Ulna

Answer 29

It is the medial bone of the forearm.

Question 30

Carpal bones

Answer 30

There are 8 of these bones and they are arranged in 2 irregular rows of 4 bones each; they form the part of the hand called the carpus.

Question 31

Pelvic girdle

Answer 31

It is formed by the 2 coxal bones.

Question 32

Femur

Answer 32

It is the only bone in the thigh and is the heaviest, strongest bone in the body; its proximal end has a ball-like head, a neck, and greater and lesser trochanters.

Question 33

Tibia

Answer 33

It is in the lower leg and is larger and more medial.

Question 34

Fibula

Answer 34

It lies alongside the tibia and forms joints with it both proximally and distally; it is thin and stick-like.