The Human Skeleton Flashcards
What are bones made of?
Bones are made of hard minerals, like calcium.
What is the structure of a bone?
In the middle of a bone is the marrow. Around it is the spongy layer, which allows your bones to bend slightly. The outside of a bone is smooth and hard to provide support.
What are the main bones in the body?
In the head are the cranium and the jaw. The clavicle joins your shoulders together. The scapula is your shoulder blade. The sternum connects your ribs together. The humerus is your upper arm. In your lower arm is the radius at the front, and the ulna at the back. Your pelvis is just below your hips. Your femur is in your upper leg, your tibia is at the front of your lower leg and the fibula is at the back.
Why do we have a skeleton?
A skeleton provides us with support. If we didn’t have one we would be all floppy because we had no structure holding us together.
Why are bones different shapes and sizes?
Because different sized bones are used for different functions.
Why do we have bone marrow, and what does it do?
We have bone marrow because it produces three essential things; red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The red blood cells carry oxygen around the body, where it is used to release energy. The white blood cells fight infection. Platelets help your blood to clot.
What does collagen do?
Collagen allows bones to bend a little, but they can still break easily. Bones can also fracture.
How can you mend bones and fractures?
The bones can be held in place to recover using a cast of glass fibre.
What types of fracture are there?
If a bone breaks through the skin it is an open or compound fracture. If it snaps in two and does not break through it is called a simple fracture.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a condition that affects your bones. The cartilage at the end of the bones wear away so the bones rub together, causing pain. You can have the joints replaced.
What is osteoporosis?
As bones age, they become less dense, so they are more fragile. This means they are more likely to fracture. You can take certain drugs to make bones stronger.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a condition that affects your bones. The cartilage at the end of the bones wear away so the bones rub together, causing pain. You can have the joints replaced.
What is osteoporosis?
As bones age, they become less dense, so they are more fragile. This means they are more likely to fracture. You can take certain drugs to make bones stronger.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a condition that affects your bones. The cartilage at the end of the bones wear away so the bones rub together, causing pain. You can have the joints replaced.
What is osteoporosis?
As bones age, they become less dense, so they are more fragile. This means they are more likely to fracture. You can take certain drugs to make bones stronger.
