SKELETON. ENGLISH

SKELETON Our locomotor system is made up of the internal skeleton and the muscles.

The skeleton is made up of bones, articulations and cartilages, and it develops three main functions: To hold up and give form to the body To protect the most important and fragile organs in our body like the brain, the heart and the lungs To make possible the movement of the body Bones are the most rigid and hard parts of the body. They are hard because they are made up of bony tissue, which contains a lot of mineral substances, but, at the same time, they are light because inside there are a lot of empty areas.

Depending on the form, bones may be flat (skull, shoulder blade‌), large (extremities) and short (vertebra) LARGE BONE

FLAT BONE

SHORT BONE

SKELETON BONES: the body has got 206 bones which are distributed throughout the head, the trunk and extremities A. Bones of the head: they are classified as follows: - Bones in the skull: they are used to protect the brain. They are: frontal bone, temporal bone, parietal and occipital bone.

- Bones in the face; they include: cheekbones, nasal bones and maxillas, where teeth are placed.

B. Bones of the trunk: in the trunk there is the spine, which is made up of 33 vertebrae (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum and coccyx) and the thoracic cavity that protects the heart and lungs. It is made up of twelve pairs of ribs and a flat bone called the sternum. Ribs are large and curved bones. They are jointed with the 12 first vertebrae.

C. Bones of the limbs: they are divided into: Upper limb bones: the humerus which forms the arm; ulna and radius which form the forearm; carpal bones that form the wrist; metacarpals (form the hands), and phalanges which form the fingers. Arms are joined to the body through the bones in the shoulders; they are the clavicle (front) and the scapula (back).

Lower limb bones: patella is in the knee; tibia and fibula constitute the leg; tarsal bones constitute the ankle; metatarsal bones form the foot; and phalanges constitute toes. Legs are joined to the trunk through the bones in the hips or pelvis (coxal and sacrum bones)

ARTICULATIONS are where two or more bones meet. They can be classified as follows: FIXED JOINT: bones are welded and cannot move (skull bones) MOBILE JOINT: they have got a big capacity of movement (shoulder joint) SEMI-MOBILE JOINT: they have got reduced mobility (vertebrates)

Bones in the mobile and semi-mobile articulations cannot be separated because they are fixed by ligaments.

CARTILAGES are the most flexible and soft parts of the skeleton. They are formed of cartilaginous tissues. There are cartilages inside our ear and nose. Besides that, there is a layer of cartilage in the end of the mobile articulation bones to avoid friction.

LESIONS OF BONES AND ARTICULATIONS Most frequent injuries are: Bone fracture Sprain: it is an excessive stretching, tear or fracture of a ligament Luxation: it is when bones are not in their habitual place http://www.mybwmc.org/library/3/100070 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton http://health.allrefer.com/health/head-and-face-reconstruction-skull-1.html http://www.shoppingtrolley.net/lesson1-bone-types.shtml