The skeletal system - Essay Example

The human skeletal system is responsible for giving shape to the body and also plays a vital role in protesting organs and locomotion. The bones andits associated cartilages and joints together comprise the skeletal system of the body. While bones are formed of a tough and rigid form of connective tissue which is highly mineralized with calcium deposits, the cartilages are not very tough and are do not possess a high degree of mineralization. The joints that connect a bone to another bone, a bone to a cartilage or a cartilage with another cartilage are important components of the skeletal system as they are responsible for the mobility of the human body (Skeletal system, n.d). A new born infant usually possess around 230 bones while a fully grown adult will approximately have about 206 bones.

The human skeleton is divided into two major components namely the axial and appendicular skeleton. The axial portion comprises about 80 bones which include those in the skull, vertebral column and thoracic cage which comprise the axis of the body. The appendicular portion has about 126 bones, attached to the axial skeleton, which include the different appendages within the body and includes the shoulder girdle, skeletal portions of the upper and lower limb and the pelvic girdle (Skeletal system, n.

d; Kulkarni, n.d; Anatomy of the bone, n.d). The human body consists of 5 types of bones which are classified based on their shape and function. These include the long bones whose length is greater than their width such as the limb bones, the short bones with approximately equal length and width include the carpals and tarsals, the flat bones which are attached to muscles such as the breast bone mainly protect body organs, the bones of the vertebral and mandibles are irregular in shape and the sesamoid bones which are small and present in the joints such as the knee cap provide protection to the tendons (Kulkarni, n.

d; Types of bone, n.d; Anatomy of the bone, n.d). The marrow of the bones, which is present in the central medullary cavity of the bone, is the site of production and storage of hematopoietic stem cells which later differentiate into the RBCs, WBCs and platelets (Kulkarni, n.d; 4). Differences exist in the male and female skeletal system which include a larger and flatter pelvic bone in females to facilitate childbirth, bones are rounder and smaller in females than in males and the jaws are more squared and eyebrows more wider in males.

Additionally females also have more rounded shoulder blades compared to males (Kulkarni, n.d). Thus the human skeletal system provides the basic framework for the body thereby giving it a definite shape and structure. Reference 1. Skeletal system. (n.d). MANanatomy. Retrieved Apr. 22, 2011, from http://www.mananatomy.com/body-systems/skeletal-system 2. Kulkarni, M. (n.d). Introduction to Human Skeletal System. Buzzle. Retrieved Apr. 22, 2011, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/introduction-to-human-skeletal-system.html 3. Types of bone. (n.d).

MANanatomy. Retrieved Apr. 22, 2011, from http://www.mananatomy.com/basic-anatomy/types-bone 4. Anatomy of the bone. (n.d). The University of Chicago Medical Center. Retrieved Apr. 22, 2011, from http://www.uchospitals.edu/online-library/content=P00109