Skeletal system Flashcards
What is a hydrostatic skeleton and example organisms
- fluid filled cavity surrounded by muscles
- e.g. jellyfish, earthworm, snail
(Image: https://www.slideshare.net/nirmalajosephine1/biology-form-5-chapter-2-locomotion-support-21-part-1)
How does a hydrostatic skeleton work?
- Fluid provides support against muscles that contract
- The pressure that the fluid exerts changes the animals shape according to which muscles are contracting
- This brings about movements
(image: http://faculty.fmcc.suny.edu/mcdarby/BIO170Book/12-AnimalStructure.html)
Advantages of a hydrostatic skeleton
- Anatomy simple, no extra support organs needed
- Body elastic and can change shape easily
- No need for a specialised support system, living in water, the water provides support
Disadvantages of hydrostatic skeleton
- Animals are slow in moving
- Require aquatic or moist environment
- Limited size of animal
- No protection from skeleton
What is an exoskeleton and examples of animals
- An external skeleton
- made of chitin on the outside of the animals body
- E.g. arthropods (insects)
- Some animals have it further hardened with calcium carbonate (e.g. crabs)
(Image: http://www.dierk-raabe.com/biological-natural-materials/)
Advantages of an exoskeleton
- Supports and protects underlying tissue and organs
- The inside is a place of attachment for muscles
- The skeleton has joints for flexibility
- Quick movement possible
- The skeleton prevents desiccation (drying out)
Disadvantages of an exoskeleton
- Limited size of the animal as it is heavy
- Larger, heavier animals have more limited movement
- Limits growth and the animal needs to moult
- Moulting leaves the animal vulnerable as a new skeleton forms
- Exoskeleton impermeable to gases so a specialized respiratory system needed.
What is an Endoskeleton and examples of animals
- An internal skeleton on the inside of the animals body
- made of bone and cartilage
- Found in vertebrates e.g. fish, frogs, reptiles and mammals
Advantages of an Endoskeleton
- skeletal tissues grow as the animal grows
- protects vital organs e.g. Brain
- provides good structure to give the body shape
- provides a place for muscles to attach for movement
- joints between bones make the body flexible
Disadvantages of Endoskeleton
- More vulnerable to desiccation (drying out)
- No outer protection
Vertebrate animals
- Animals with a vertebral column made of bone or cartilage
- Members of the phylum Chordata
- e.g. fish, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals
(Image: http://byjus.com/biology/vertebrates/)
Invertebrate animals
- Animals without a vertebral column
- about 95% of animals are in this group
- e.g. jellyfish, flatworms, roundworms and arthropods
Different types of skeletons in animals
- Hydrostatic skeleton
- Exoskeleton
- Endoskeleton
Joints
The junction in the skeleton where two or more bones meet and are joined by ligaments or cartilage
immovable joints
- A joint not allowing any movement
- e.g. serrated joints between bones of the cranium
semi-movable joints
- Joints that allow a small amount of movement
- e.g. between vertebra
synovial joints
Joints allowing free movement
parts of a synovial joint
- Bones covered with hyaline cartilage
- A enclosing sac made of ligament called the joint capsule
- Capsule lined with a synovial membrane
- Capsule contains synovial fluid
- Ligaments attach the two bones of the joint
Types of synovial joint
- Ball and socket joints e.g. hip and shoulder
- Hinge joints e.g. elbow and knee
- Pivot joints e.g. atlas and axis
- Gliding joint e.g. wrist and ankle joints
x-Ray photo’s
- High energy x-rays penetrate soft tissue and less so bones
- making it possible to visualize the internal skeleton.
- Used by doctors to diagnose bone fractures and dislocation of joints
skeletal muscles
- Muscles attached to the skeleton
- to bring about movement of parts of the body.
- Attached by in elastic tendons
- They have light and dark bands (striated)
- They are voluntary muscles
Structure of skeletal muscles
- Made up of many muscle fibres (muscle cells)
- bound together by connective tissue into perimysium bundles
- Perimysium bundles are bound together to form the epimysium, the complete skeletal muscle
(Image: https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/muscular/structure.html)
Structure of a muscle fibre
- A single elongated cylindrical cell
- Consists of thousands of myofibrils
- Myofibrils contain myosin and actin protein filaments
- Myosin thicker and darker than actin giving the fibre a banded appearance
Sarcomere of a muscle fibre
- A functional unit of a muscle allowing it to contract.
- Region where actin and myosin filaments overlap.
How a muscle fibre contracts
- Nerve fibres transmit impulses to the sarcomere.
- Thin actin filaments slide past thicker myosin filaments to increase their overlap.
- The sarcomeres shorten
- This shortens the overall length of the muscle fibres and in tern the whole muscle.
Antagonistic muscles and an example in the arm
- Skeletal muscles arranged in pairs
- When one contracts, the other relaxes
- Allow coordinated movements
- e.g. The bicep and tricep muscles in the forearm
(Image: http://www.jeron.je/anglia/learn/sec/science/body/muscle.htm)
How the arm straightens
- Tricep contracts and bicep relaxes
- The elbow joint extends and the arm is straightened
How the arm lifts/bends
- The bicep contracts and the tricep relaxes
- The elbow joint bends and the forearm is lifted.
(Image: http://www.mychhs.colostate.edu/david.greene/Yamagata2007_distal_upper_extremity_lecture.htm)
What is rickets?
- A childhood deficiency disease affecting the skeleton
- bones become soft, bend and weaken
Symptoms of rickets
- Bones still growing are deformed e.g. bent/bow legs
- High incidence of bone fractures and weakness
- Delayed growth,
- Pain in the spine, pelvis and legs.
Causes of rickets
- Shortage of vitamin D
- Vitamin D is needed for absorption of calcium
- Calcium is needed for bone and teeth development
What is osteoporosis?
- A disease of the bones
- Characterized by a decrease in bone density
- Bones become porous and less dense
Causes of osteoporosis
- Shortage of calcium
- Greater bone absorption than bone building
- A lack of certain hormones, particularly estrogen in women
- Lack of exercise
Prevention of osteoporosis
- Peak bone density is reached at approximately 25 years of age,
- it is important to build strong bones by that age.
- Sufficient calcium and vitamin D intake to ensure sufficient bone building.
- Sufficient exercise while bones are growing
Symptoms of osteoporosis
- Usually bone density loss starts long before symptoms
- Weakened bones
- Increased risk of fracture of hips, spine and wrists
- Curved back and decreased height
What is arthritis
- A disease that causes severe pain in the joints
- Loss of movement in joints
- Inflammation of the joints
What causes inflammation?
- Inflammation causes swelling, pain and loss of movement of the affected area
- Usually caused by the bodies immune system reaction to injury or pathogens
What is osteoarthritis?
- Cartilage of a joint aging and disintegrating with time
- Bones grind against each other causing inflammation
- Common in hips, knees, feet, fingers and spine
Factors that might lead to osteoarthritis
- Being overweight.
- Getting older.
- Joint injury.
- Joints that are not properly formed.
- A genetic defect in joint cartilage.
- Stresses on the joints from certain jobs and playing sports.
What is rheumatoid arthritis?
- Synovial membranes in joints thicken
- Too much synovial fluid causes inflammation
- Causes deformation of joints
- Usually affects finger joints, wrists, knees and toes