Functions of the skeletal system

• Prrotection


  Some bones protect organs in the body, for example the skull protects the brains. The skull is actually made of 22 bones that are joined by fixed joints
• Four functions of the skeletal system

  1. Support us to perform daily activities
  2. Production of blood cells in the bone
  3. Protection of organs (skull and brain)
  4. Movement
• Skull protects the soft tissue in the brain
• Ribcage/ Ribs protects the lungs and heart
• Spine/vertebrae protects the spinal cord (contains lots of nerve tissue
• Pattella/Knee cap protects the soft tissues of the knee
• Support

  The skeleton supports the body.

  The spinal cord is surrounded by vertebra. Most people are born with 33 of these but adults usually have 24 because some join together naturally as the body grows. Without these bones people would not be able to sit upright. The major bones in the legs are the femur, fibula and tibia. These allow a person to stand upright.
• Protection

  The bones protect the vital organs:

  • the skull protects the brain
  • the vertebrae protect the spinal cord
  • the ribcage protects the heart, lungs and liver
• Movement

  Some bones in the skeleton are joined rigidly together and cannot move against each other. Bones in the skull are joined in this way. Other bones are joined to each other by flexible joints. The vertebrae have limited movement, but the shoulders, elbows and knees are joints that allow more movement.

  Muscles are attached to bones by tendons. Skeletal muscles contract and relax to move bones
• Making blood cells

  There are different kinds of blood cells, including:

  • Red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body in the blood
  • White blood cells, which are involved in destroying harmful microorganisms in the body

  These cells are made in the bone marrow. This is soft tissue inside our larger bones which is protected by the hard part of the bone which surrounds