Anatomy: Skeleton
Why do we need a skeleton?
Our bodies are made up of 206 bones that perform a number of functions:
- Support of soft tissue and maintaining posture
- Movement by muscles pulling on bone
- Protection of certain parts of the body, eg, head and chest
- Storage of mineral salts
- Blood cell production
What are the main bones that we use in health and fitness?
There a number of key bones that enable us to move our bodies and these are indicated on the following diagrams:
- Skeleton - frontal view
- Click on thumbnail to enlarge
- Skeleton - rear view
- Click on thumbnail to enlarge
How are the bones joined together?
Now that we know a little about why we have bones and which are the important ones, you might wonder how they are joined together? In health and fitness, we are mainly concerned with the bones that enable us to move; these can be joined together in a number of different ways depending on their function:
- Ball and socket joints - where the head of one bone (a ball) fits into the head of another (a socket), eg the hip or shoulder
- Hinge joints - which open and close like the hinge of a door, eg, the elbow or knee
- Vertebral joints - these connect the bones of the spine, with each having limited movement
- Sliding joints - these move from side to side and up and down, eg, the wrist or ankle
- Pivot joints - these are where a ring of bone rotates around a bony prominence of another bone, eg, the base of the skull
