Skeletal System Vocab

Question 1

The bones that form the longitudinal axis of the body.

Answer 1

Axial skeleton

Question 2

The bones of the limbs and girdles.

Answer 2

Appendicular skeleton

Question 3

Dense, homogeneous, smooth looking bones.

Answer 3

Compact bone

Question 4

Composed of small, needle-like pieces of bone and lots of open space.

Answer 4

Spongy bone

Question 5

Bones longer than they are wide. All bones of the limbs, except the wrist and ankle bones are long bones.

Answer 5

Long bones

Question 6

Generally cube-shaped and contain mostly spongy bone. Wrist and ankle are short bones.

Answer 6

Short bones

Question 7

Thin, flattened, and usually curved bones. Two thin layers of compact bone sandwiching a layer of spongy bone. Most bones of the skull, the ribs, and the sternum are flat.

Answer 7

Flat bones

Question 8

Bones that do not fit one of the preceding categories.

Answer 8

Irregular bones

Question 9

Makes up most of the bone’s length and is composed of compact bone.

Answer 9

Diaphysis

Question 10

Fibrous connective tissue that covers and protects the diaphysis.

Answer 10

Periosteum

Question 11

Thin line of bony tissue spanning the epiphysis that looks a bit different from the rest of the bone in that area.

Answer 11

Epiphyseal line

Question 12

Bone breaks into many fragments.

Answer 12

Comminuted fracture

Question 13

Bone is crushed.

Answer 13

Compression fracture

Question 14

Broken bone portion is pressed inward.

Answer 14

Depressed fracture

Question 15

Broken bone ends are forced into each other.

Answer 15

Impacted fracture

Question 16

Ragged break occurs when excessive twisting forces are applied to a bone.

Answer 16

Spiral fracture

Question 17

Bone breaks incompletely, much in the way a green twig breaks.

Answer 17

Greenstick fracture

Question 18

A blood-filled swelling forms when blood vessels are ruptured when the bone breaks.

Answer 18

Hematoma

Question 19

Encloses and protects the fragile brain tissue.

Answer 19

Cranium

Question 20

.

Answer 20

Occipital bone

Question 21

Or “spine”, extends from the skull, which it supports, to the pelvis, where it transmits the weight of the body to the lower limbs.

Answer 21

Vertebral column

Question 22

33 separate bones of the spine, 9 eventually fuse to form the two composite bones, the sacrum and the coccyx.

Answer 22

Vertebrae

Question 23

Cushion the vertebrae and absorb shocks while allowing the spine flexibility.

Answer 23

Intervertebral discs

Question 24

Form the neck region of the spine.

Answer 24

Cervical vertebrae

Question 25

Larger than the cervical vertebrae.

Answer 25

Thoracic vertebrae

Question 26

Five, have massive, block-like bodies. Looks like a moose head.

Answer 26

Lumbar vertebrae

Question 27

Formed by the fusion of five vertebrae.

Answer 27

Sacrum

Question 28

Formed from the fusion of three to five tiny, irregularly shaped vertebrae. Tailbone.

Answer 28

Coccyx

Question 29

Typical flat bone.

Answer 29

Sternum

Question 30

Twelve pairs form the walls of the bony thorax.

Answer 30

Ribs

Question 31

Collarbone.

Answer 31

Clavicle

Question 32

Shoulder blades.

Answer 32

Scapulae

Question 33

Typical long bone in the arm.

Answer 33

Humerus