Unit 6 Reflection

In this unit, although we have not done any blogging, we have learned a lot about the skeletal system. The skeleton is used for many different purposes. First, it supports the body. It also protects the bodies soft organs. The skeletal system not only includes 206 bones (luckily we only had to know and remember where 40 of them were), but it also includes cartilage, joints, ligaments(connects bone to bone), and tendons (connects bone to muscle).


There are many different types of bones: long, short, flat and irregular. Long bones tend to be longer than they are wide and contain mostly compact bone. Short bones are typically cube-shaped such as carpals and tarsals. Flat bones are thin, flattened, and usually curved. Some examples of this are the sternum, skull, and ribs. The last type of bone is the irregular bone which does not fit into any other classification. This includes the vertebrae and hips bones.


We also learned about 6 different diseases related to the skeletal system. Arthritis is a common disease where there are over 100 types. This is a disease where there is inflammation in the joints. Osteoporosis is when the bones have lost important minerals such as calcium, and then become brittle and porous. When bones are Vitamin D deficient, it cause softening and weakening of the bones, called Rickets. Scoliosis, Lordosis, and Kyphosis all have to do with the spine. Scoliosis is another commonly known disease that causes abnormal curvature of the spine side-to-side. When there is excessive curvature of the thoracic, or upper region of the spine, it is known as Kyphosis. Similarly, if there is excessive curvature of the Lumbar vertebrae, or lower region of the spine, it is known as Lordosis.




I mentioned before that calcium was one of the main causes of Osteoporosis. Well, calcium actually aids a lot in health. It is necessary for maintaining pH of blood, heart function, nerve function, and the building and repairing of teeth and bones. It is very important to have healthy levels of calcium in your body, otherwise it gets pulled from our bones.

In bone remodeling, there are 4 major cells that contribute. First, are the osteoprogenitor cells. They are dividing cells that develop into osteoblasts, which are the bone-building cells. Osteoblasts secrete collagen and osteocalcin. They then go on to become mature bone cells, or Osteocytes, which carry out the daily activities of bone tissue. Finally, there are Osteoclasts, which are found on the surface of the bones and are responsible for the breaking down of bone tissue.







Another topic that we were taught was on bone fractures. We learned the difference between complete fractures (bone breaks completely through), incomplete or greenstick fracture (fracture does not extend through the bone), and closed or simple fracture (bone does not tear through the skin). It can get more complicated than this when it comes to factures, but I will leave it at this!



I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience of learning about the human skeleton as much as I enjoyed learning about it! Thank You!