Skeletal System

What’s the skeletal system? The skeletal system is what keeps your body in shape, protects your vital organs, such as the heart, brain, and lungs, and enables you to move.

The Spine Made of separate bones called vertebrae In between each vertebrae is a layer of cartilage that keeps the bones from rubbing up against each other 26 vertebrae in the spine

The Ribs The breastbone, or the sternum, is linked to the bones which make up the ribs. Ribs protect many internal organs on your chest Most people have 12 pairs of ribs The ribs are connected to the sternum by cartilage

Hands and Feet Each hand has 27 separate bones connected by muscle and tendons 26 bones in each foot Half the bones in your body are found in your hands and feet

Hips and Legs Hip bones help us stand upright and move, and also support the body's weight Each hip is made up of 3 bones called, ilium, ischium, and pubis .

The Arms The Arm is made up of three bones called the, ulna, radius, and humerus The lower bones are connected with the humerus at the elbow and the carpal bones at the wrist At the shoulder there are two bones that form the shoulder joint

Joints We can bend, swivel, stretch, pivot, and point. Our bodies can perform more than one kind of motion because we have joints. Ball and socket joints allow twisting and turning movements A hinge joint allows movement in a certain spot to take place

Inside a bone A fully developed bone is made up of mineral salts, water and tissue. There are two types of bone - compact and cancellate. A compact bone is smooth and solid, while a cancellate bone is a much lighter structure. The structure of the cancellate bone is similar to a honeycomb. All bones are a combination of cancellate and compact bone.