Skeletal System Vocab Flashcards
Axial Skeleton
the part of the skeleton that consists of the bones of the head and trunk of a vertebrate.
Appendicular Skeleton
formed by the pectoral girdles, the upper limbs, the pelvic girdle, and the lower limbs.
Compact Bone
facilitates bone’s main functions: to support the whole body, protect organs, provide levers for movement, and store and release chemical elements, mainly calcium.
Spongy Bone
bone with interstices filled with embryonic connective tissue or bone marrow
Large Bones
hard, dense bones that provide strength, structure, and mobility. The femur (thigh bone) is a long bone
Short Bones
short bones are designated as those bones that are as wide as they are long. Their primary function is to provide support and stability with little to no movement.
Flat Bones
bones whose principal function is either extensive protection or the provision of broad surfaces for muscular attachment.
Irregular Bones
from their peculiar form, cannot be grouped as long bone, short bone, flat bone or sesamoid bone.
Diaphysis
the shaft or central part of a long bone.
Periosteum
a dense layer of vascular connective tissue enveloping the bones except at the surfaces of the joints.
Epiphyseal Line
the rounded end of a long bone, at its joint with adjacent bones.
Comminuted Fracture
a break or splinter of the bone into more than two fragments.
Compression Fracture
occurs when the bone collapses, particularly in short bones such as the vertebrae in the spine.
Depressed Frature
a break in continuity of bone; it may be caused by trauma, twisting due to muscle spasm or indirect loss of leverage, or by disease.
Impacted Fracture
is one whose ends are driven into each other. This is commonly seen in arm fractures in children.
Spiral Fracture
a bone fracture occurring when torque (a rotating force) is applied along the axis of a bone.
Greenstick Fracture
a fracture of the bone, occurring typically in children, in which one side of the bone is broken and the other only bent.
Hematoma
solid swelling of clotted blood within the tissues.
Cranium
the skull, especially the part enclosing the brain.
Occipital Bone
the bone that forms the back and base of the skull, and through which the spinal cord passes.
Vertebral Column
spinal cord.
Vertebrae
each of the series of small bones forming the backbone.
Invertebral Discs
the layer of fibrocartilage between the bodies of adjoining vertebrae.
Cervical Vertebrae
the top 7 vertebrae of the spine and form the neck, which supports the skull, or cranium
Thoracic Vertebrae
each of the twelve bones of the backbone to which the ribs are attached.
Lumbar Vertebrae
the five vertebrae between the rib cage and the pelvis.
Sacrum
a triangular bone in the lower back formed from fused vertebrae and situated between the two hipbones of the pelvis.
Coccyx
a small, triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans and some apes, formed of fused vestigial vertebrae.
Sternum
the breastbone.
Ribs
the bony frame formed by the ribs around the chest.
Clavicle
technical term for collarbone.
Scapulae
technical term for shoulder blade.
Humerus
the bone of the upper arm or forelimb, forming joints at the shoulder and the elbow.
Radius
the bone on the outer or thumb side of the forearm.
Ulna
the thinner and longer of the two bones in the human forearm, on the side opposite to the thumb.
Carpal Bones
eight bones arranged in two rows that articulate proximally with the radius and indirectly with the ulna
Metacarpals
the five bones of the hand.
Pelvic Girdle
the enclosing structure formed by the pelvis, providing attachment for the hind limbs or pelvic fins.
Femur
the bone of the thigh or upper hind limb, articulating at the hip and the knee.
Tibia
he inner and typically larger of the two bones between the knee and the ankle
Fibula
the outer and usually smaller of the two bones between the knee and the ankle in humans
Metatarsals
the bones of the foot
