THE

GENERAL framework of the body

is built up mainly of a series of
bones, supplemented, however, in
certain regions by pieces of
cartilage;
the bony part of the framework
constitutes the skeleton.
Bones are divisible into four classes:
Long, Short, Flat, and Irregular.

Long Bones are consists of a body or

shaft and two extremities.
The body, or diaphysis is cylindrical,
with a central cavity termed the
medullary canal that filled with marrow.
The extremities (epiphyses) are
generally expanded, for the purposes of
articulation and to afford broad surfaces
for muscular attachment.

 The

long bones are not straight, but

curved, the curve generally taking
place in two planes, thus affording
greater strength to the bone.
The bones belonging to this class
are: the clavicle, humerus, radius,
ulna, femur, tibia, fibula,
metacarpals, metatarsals, and
phalanges.

 Where

a part of the skeleton is

intended for strength and
compactness combined with limited
movement, it is constructed of a
number of short bones, as in the
carpus and tarsus.

 Where

the principal requirement is

either extensive protection or the
provision of broad surfaces for
muscular attachment, the bones are
expanded into broad, flat plates, as
in the skull and the scapula.
These bones are composed of two
thin layers of compact tissue
enclosing between them.

 The

intervening cancellous tissue is

called the diplo, and this, in certain
regions of the skull, becomes absorbed
so as to leave spaces filled with air (airsinuses) between the two tables.
The flat bones are: the occipital,
parietal, frontal, nasal, lacrimal,
vomer, scapula, os cox (hip bone),
sternum, ribs, and, according to some,
the patella.

SCAPULA BONE

FRONTAL BONE

 The

irregular bones are such as, from

their peculiar form, cannot be grouped
under the preceding heads.
They consist of cancellous tissue
enclosed within a thin layer of compact
bone. The irregular bones are: the
vertebr, sacrum, coccyx, temporal,
sphenoid, ethmoid, zygomatic,
maxilla, mandible, palatine, inferior
nasal concha, and hyoid.

VERTEBRAL BONE

MAXILLA BONE

 If

the surface of a bone be examined,

certain eminences and depressions are
seen.
These eminences and depressions are of
two kinds: articular and non-articular.
Well-marked examples of articular
eminences are found in the heads of the
humerus and femur; and of articular
depressions in the glenoid cavity of the
scapula, and the acetabulum of the hip
bone.

 Non-articular

eminences are
designated according to their form.
Thus, a broad, rough, uneven elevation
is called a tuberosity, protuberance,
or process, a small, rough prominence,
a tubercle; a sharp, slender pointed
eminence, a spine; a narrow, rough
elevation, running some way along the
surface, a ridge, crest, or line.

 Non-articular

depressions are also of

variable form, and are described as
foss, pits, depressions, grooves,
furrows, fissures, notches, etc.
These non-articular eminences and
depressions serve to increase the extent
of surface for the attachment of
ligaments and muscles.
A short perforation is called a foramen,
a longer passage a canal.

 Bone

is one of the hardest structures

of the animal body;
it possesses also a certain degree of
toughness and elasticity.
Its color, in a fresh state, is pinkishwhite externally, and deep red
within.

Bone during life is permeated by vessels, and is

enclosed in a fibrous membrane, the
periosteum, except where it is coated with
articular cartilage.
The bloodvessels of bone are very numerous.
Those of the compact tissue are derived from a
close and dense network of vessels ramifying in
the periosteum. From this membrane vessels
pass into the minute orifices in the compact
tissue, and run through the canals which
traverse its substance.

joint is the location at which two

or more bones make contact.
They are constructed to allow
movement and provide mechanical
support, and are classified
structurally and functionally.

 Structural

classification is
determined by how the bones
connect to each other,
while functional classification is
determined by the degree of
movement between the articulating
bones.

There are three structural

classifications of joints:
fibrous joint - joined by
fibrous connective tissue
cartilaginous joint - joined by
cartilage
synovial joint - not directly joined

The fibrous joints are further divided into three types:

Sutures are found between bones of the skull. In
fetal skulls the sutures are wide to allow slight
movement during birth. They later become rigid (
synarthrodial).
Syndesmosis are found between long bones of the
body, such as the radius and ulna in forearm and
the fibula and tibia in leg. Unlike other fibrous
joints, syndesmoses are moveable (amphiarthrodial
), although not to such degree as synovial joints.
Gomphosis is a joint between the root of a tooth
and the sockets in the maxilla or mandible.

Joints can also be classified functionally,

by the degree of mobility they allow:
synarthrosis - permits little or no mobility.
Most synarthrosis joints are fibrous joints.
amphiarthrosis - permits slight mobility.
Most amphiarthrosis joints are
cartilaginous joints.
diarthrosis - permits a variety of
movements. All diarthrosis joints are
synovial joints.

A synarthrosis is a type of joint which permits little

or no mobility. Most synarthrosis joints are fibrous.
Suture joints and synchondroses are synarthrose.
They can be categorised by how the two bones are
joined together:
Synchondroses are joints where the two bones are
connected by a piece of cartilage.
Synostoses are where two bones that are initially
separted eventually fuse together, essentially
becoming one bone. In humans the plates of the
cranium fuse together as a child approaches
adulthood. Children whose craniums fuse too early
may suffer deformities and brain damage as the
skull does not expand properly to accommodate the
growing brain, a condition known as craniostenosis.

Cartilaginous joints are connected entirely by

cartilage (fibrocartilage or hyaline).
Cartilaginous joints allow more movement
between bones than a fibrous joint but less than
the highly mobile synovial joint.
An example would be the joint between the
manubrium and the sternum. Cartilaginous joints
also forms the growth regions of immature long
bones and the intervertebral discs of the
spinal column.

In amphiarthroses, the
contiguous bony surfaces
are either:
symphysis: connected by
broad flattened disks of
fibrocartilage, of a more
or less complex
structure, as in the
articulations between the
bodies of the vertebrae.
An example is the
sternocostal joint.
syndesmosis: united by
an interosseous ligament
, as in the
inferior tibiofibular articu
lation
.

Name

Example

Gliding joints (or planar

joints)

the carpals of the wrist

Hinge joints

the elbow (between the

humerus and the ulna)

Pivot joints

the elbow (between the

radius and the ulna)

Condyloid joints (or

ellipsoidal joints)

the wrist

Saddle joints

the thumb (between the

metacarpal and carpal)

Ball and socket joints

the shoulder and hip joints

Description
These joints allow a wide
variety of movement, but
not much distance.
These joints act like a door
hinge, allowing flexion and
extension in just one plane.
This is where one bone
rotates about another.
A condyloid joint is where
two bones fit together with
an odd shape (e.g. an
ellipse), and one bone is
concave, the other convex.
Some classifications make
a distinction between
condyloid and ellipsoid
joints.
Saddle joints, which
resemble a saddle, permit
the same movements as
the condyloid joints.
These allow a wide range
of movement

Where slight movement combined with great

strength is required, the osseous surfaces are
united by tough and elastic fibrocartilages,
as in the joints between the vertebral bodies,
and in the interpubic articulation.
In the freely movable joints the surfaces are
completely separated; the bones forming the
articulation are expanded for greater
convenience of mutual connection, covered
by cartilage and enveloped by capsules of
fibrous tissue.

 The

cells lining the interior of the

fibrous capsule form an imperfect
membranethe synovial
membranewhich secretes a
lubricating fluid. The joints are
strengthened by strong fibrous
bands called ligaments, which
extend between the bones forming
the joint.