The Bones in our Body

Keywords

Endoskeleton, bones, skeleton, fats, organs, blood, movement, upright, structure.

Introduction

As humans, we have an endoskeleton. There are two types of skeleton organisms can have. An endoskeleton is a skeleton that is within the body, encased within the skin. The other type is called an exoskeleton, which is more common in crustacean species, such as a crab or lobster. Their skeleton is external (hence the 'exo' part of the name). But what is the point of having a skeleton?

Interesting fact: although we have 206 bones in our body, babies have an amazing 270! When the child grows up, the bones eventually fuse together to make the 206 that we have as adults. This is why breast feeding and milk intake is essential.

What Does the Skeleton Do?

The simplest way to explain this is to say they hold our body upright during everyday life. But they do so much more. There are six main functions:

They protect internal organs. This is a no-brainer. Oh, that's one of them. Get it? It protects the brain, and other organs - the lungs, heart, liver, brain and other smaller organs are protected by the ribcage, or the skull.

They store and release fats. That's right. The old myth of being "big-boned" - it's not so far from the truth. They do it all in moderation. If your body is starved of food and needs to produce fat, the bones will release fats into the body to help you until you find food. It stores it up when you are able to eat plenty.

They produce blood cells. Bones help with the production of blood cells. As bones create STEM cells, they can be given the function of blood before being released into the circulatoryAlso known as the cardiovascular system. system. They work alongside the other organs that create them, like the liver or the lymph nodes.

They store and release minerals. In a similar fashion to the fat storing and release function, bones store minerals that are needed for the body to survive and release them when necessary. The most common mineral you will associate with bones is calcium. This is present in drinking milk, and can also come in a chalky tablet form to take as a supplement.

They allow you to move. Along with the muscles in your body, the bones allow you to move around. Get up off a chair, go for a run, walk, play a sport, drive a car. Every day movements, but it's your bones that allow you to do this. For this to work, they need joints.

They help keep us upright. Simply put, without our skeleton inside our bodies, we would not be able to stand. Gravity would see to that, as it would push our mushy bits down onto the ground.

So, as you can see, our bones are extremely important for our everday lives. This means you have to look after them.

Here is a YouTube video from Smile and Learn to help explain it further:

Too Long; Didn't Read

We have an endoskeleton, meaning that our skeleton is within our body, and not external. Other species, such as lobsters and crabs have an exoskeleton, which is an external skeleton.

Our skeleton has more functions that you think. First, it keeps us upright, being quite dense. It also protects our internal organs, which are vital for keeping us alive (like the heart and lungs). Bones create blood cells to enter circulation, which are created from stem cells. Other functions include storing and release of minerals and fats, and the ability to move.