Skeletal Anatomy and Other Fun Facts About the Body

By: Violette L. Meier

The Human SkeletonThe human skeleton consists of 206 bones.We are born with approximately 300 bones

but many of them fuse together as we get older.

What are bones made of?The outer surface of bone is called the periosteum.

It's a thin membrane that contains nerves and blood vessels that feeds the bone.

The next layer is made up of compact bone. Compact bone is smooth and hard. It is the part you see when you look at a skeleton.

Inside the compact bone are many layers of bone which looks a bit like a sponge. It is called cancellous bone and it is not as hard as the compact bone.

The cancellous bone protects the bone marrow. Bone marrow is like a thick jelly and it makes blood cells.

Why do we have bones?Bones support our bodies and allow us to

move.Bones contain a lot of calcium. Calcium is an essential element for

living organisms. It is a major material used in mineralization of bones and shells. Calcium is the most abundant metal by mass in many animals.

Where can we get calcium for strong bones?Calcium may be found in many foods such as:

dairy (especially milk), broccoli, seaweeds such as kelp, wakame and hijiki; nuts and seeds like almonds, hazelnuts, sesame, pistachio; blackstrap molasses; beans; figs; quinoa; okra; rutabaga; dandelion leaves; kale; and fortified products such as orange juice, almond milk, and soy milk.

What do bones do?Bones manufacture blood cells, store

important minerals, and allows us to move.

Bone Facts:The longest bone is the femur (thigh bone).The shortest bone is the stirrup bone inside

the ear.Each hand has 26-27 bones. Humans and giraffes have the same number

of bones in their necks.

What are joints?Joints are what connect the bones.There are many kinds of joints, like:

Fixed joints (the skull)Hinged joints (fingers and toes)Ball and socket joints (hips and shoulders)

Are male and female skeletons the same?No!Males have thicker and longer leg and arm

bones.Females have a wider pelvis so that they can

birth babies.Makes have a different elbow angle.

Other Fun Science Facts about the Body!The brain uses over 25% of the oxygen used by the

human body.Your heart beats around 100,000 times a day,

36,500,000 times a year and over a billion times if you live beyond 30.

Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. The color of skin is determined by the level of

melanin that the body produces. Those with small amounts of melanin have light skin while those with large amounts have dark skin.

Adult lungs have a surface area of around 70 square meters!

Other Fun Science Facts about the Body!Humans have a stage of sleep called rapid eye

movement (REM). REM sleep makes up around 25% of total sleep time and is often when you dreams.

Most adults have 32 teeth.Infants blink only 1 or 2 times a minute while adults

average around 10.Humans have unique fingerprints and tongue prints.The left side of your body is controlled by the right

side of your brain while the right side of your body is controlled by the left side of your brain.

Other Fun Science Facts about the Body!Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria,

they won't help in fighting off a virus.It takes the body around 12 hours to

completely digest food.Your sense of smell is around 10,000 times

more sensitive than your sense of taste.Your nose and ears continue growing

throughout your entire life.

How to keep the skeleton healthy?Eat foods rich in calcium.Exercise so that your body will remain at a

proper weight so that your bones will not be stressed.

Drink plenty of water.Avoid dangerous activities to that bones will

not break.

Works Citedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calciumhttp://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/bones.html#http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/

humanbody.htmlhttp://yucky.discovery.com/flash/body/

pg000124.htmlhttp://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/

anatomy/skeleton/