How many bones are there in the human body?
The skeletal system is the framework for the bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments that make up the body. There are 206 bones in the adult human body, although children have more. It is because some bones will fuse as you get older.
The skeletal system is made of:
Bone: The biggest part of the skeletal system and the part most often referred to when talking about a ‘skeleton.’ The bones are made up of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. They act as a storage for Calcium and help regulate calcium in the blood.
Cartilage: Cartilage is the firm, flexible connective tissue found in joints. Your nose and outer ears are made completely of cartilage.
Tendons: Tendons are fibrous, flexible cords that attach muscles to bones. They are made of collagen and help the muscles move.
Ligaments: Ligaments are also flexible fibrous cords, although rather than connecting bone to muscles, they connect bones to other bones or cartilage. They are mostly found in the joints.
Differences Between The Man And Woman’s Skeletal System:
There are key differences between the man’s and women’s skeletal systems. Men’s bones are generally longer and denser than women’s. It is why women often appear shorter and smaller than men. Where women have a wider pelvic bone and longer spine to make room for children when pregnant.
Layers Of A Bone:
Periosteum: This is the outermost layer of the bone that is made up of a membrane that nourishes the bone through connected blood vessels and nerves.
Compact Bone: This is the part of the bone most people see in a skeleton. It’s the hard surface of the bone that protects the inner layers.
Cancellous: This is a spongy layer underneath the compact bone that contains bone marrow.
Bone Marrow: A thick jelly-like substance used to make blood cells.
What Are The Functions Of The Skeletal System?
A few well-known functions and interesting facts about the skeletal system are that it is designed to protect all of our internal organs from damage, supports the body, and facilitates movement.
Some lesser-known functions of the skeletal system are that it stores and releases fat cells, produces blood cells, and stores minerals throughout the body.
Two Parts Of The Skeletal System:
- The Axial Skeleton:
This part of the skeleton includes all the vertical support in the body, including the vertebrae, head, and chest. The axial skeleton consists of 80 bones and protects the spinal cord, brain, heart, and lungs.
- The Appendicular Skeleton:
It consists of 126 bones, including the limbs and the bones that connect the stems to the Axial skeleton.
Conditions That Affect The Skeletal System:
Osteoporosis is when your bones become weak – prone to breaking and fracture.
Leukemia: Cancer of the white blood cells
Scoliosis: An abnormality of the spinal curve.
Breaking A Bone:
Sometimes, bones can break if put under enough pressure or hit with a strong enough force. When this happens, the bones become unstable, and depending on how bad the fracture is; you could be unable to put any weight on it.
There are many types of fractures:
- A greenstick fracture: a break on one side of the bone only
- A buckle or torus fracture: an outward bend on one side of the bone without breaking the other side
- An avulsion fracture: is when a tendon or ligament pulls off a tiny piece of bone
- A growth plate fracture: a break in the area of a child or teen’s growing bone
- A stress fracture: a small crack in the bone
- A comminuted fracture: a bone breaks into more than two pieces
- A compression fracture: a collapsing of the bone
Typically, doctors will put the broken bone in a cast for a few months while they heal on its own.
Keeping Your Skeletal System Healthy:
You can surprisingly do a lot to keep your bones healthy and make them less likely to break!
Exercise: By building the muscles around your bones and joints, they become more supported, and less strain is put on them. Although some activities, like running and other high-impact workouts, can cause your joints and bones to break down over time.
Getting the right vitamins and minerals: Try to eat foods that include these:
- Protein
- Calcium
- Vitamin D and vitamin K
- Collagen supplements
Interesting facts about the skeletal system
The human skeleton is a very complex system that helps to give our body structure, allows us to move, protects our organs, and makes our limbs strong. The skeleton can be seen as the framework of our body (think of the wood or bricks that make up a house). With this foundation, we can do lots of great activities.
Want to know even more bone facts?
Here are a few interesting facts about the skeletal system:
- How many bones are there in the human body? Babies have 300 bones, but almost 100 fuses create 206 adult bones.
- The smallest bone in the human body is in the ear; it is called the stirrup (about the size of a thumbnail) and helps humans to balance.
- Although bones can break, they are made to withstand a lot of wear and tear. For example, some of your largest bones can withstand your weight two or three times.
- Over half of our bones are found in our hands and feet! Which are made up of many little bones joined together with muscles so that we can move our hands and feet very accurately.
Your bones are living tissue. So when they are cracked or broken, they start to repair themselves immediately.
