Unit 3: Outdoor and Adventurous Activities(A3)

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Skeletal System Those two pictures show a bit more complicated side of our skeletal system, the adult human body has 206 bones. An infant may have from 300-350 bones at birth. Many of these fuse together as the infant grows. When some bones fuse and become one bone (most obvious examples are in the skull, sacrum and hip bones) the number of overall bones drops to the 206 bones that most adults have. Of the 206 bones in the adult human body, more than half (106) are in the hands and feet. The adult skeleton consists of the following bones: 28 skull bones (8 cranial, 14 facial, and 6 ear bones) The horseshoe-shaped hyoid bone of the neck which is the only bone that does not articulate (connect via a joint) to another bone 26 vertebrae (7 cervical or neck; 12 thoracic; 5 lumbar or loins; the sacrum, which is five fused vertebrae; and the coccyx, which is four fused vertebrae) 24 ribs plus the sternum or breastbone; the shoulder girdle (2 clavicles, the most frequently fractured bones in the body, and 2 scapulae) the pelvic bones (3 fused bones called the coxal bone, or Os Coxae) 30 bones in each of the arms and legs (a total of 120) a few partial bones, ranging from 8-18 in number, which are related to joints There are individual variations: for example, some people are born with an extra rib or lumbar vertebra and not everyone has Inca (sutural) bones. The functions of human skeleton Body Frame- The skeleton holds the body together. Attached to each bone are ligaments, muscle, sinew, organs, veins, and other body tissue. Without the skeleton, a body would be a messy pile of goo. The hard bones in the skeleton give shape to the body forming a rigid frame that holds everything together and keeps everything where it is supposed. This is perhaps the most important function of the skeleton. Movement- Without the

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