The Skeleton Facts
A big part of the body, the skeleton is what gives a frame on which the
rest of the body parts hang = muscle, organs, skin. Bones also store a
mineral called calcium, which is important for your nerves, heart, and
other organs, as well as providing bones their "hardness." The bones of
the skeleton grow continually from birth to about age 20 or 25. Broken
bones will regrow until the broken ends come together. Read on for
more fun and interesting skeleton facts!
Interesting The Skeleton Facts:
- Although
bones appear very hard, under the surface they are more like sponges,
with lots of air. This makes bones very strong, but very light.
- The adult human body has 206 bones in the skeleton. These bones are grown together from about 300 bones at birth!
- The spine,
which runs down the center of the back, allows the body to bend forward,
backward, side to side, and rotate to each side. It provides support
for the entire upper body (everything above the hips), and also protects
the spinal cord.
- The ribs,
which are in your chest, give support for your lungs, heart, and upper
body muscles. One of the biggest jobs the ribs have is to protect the
heart and lungs, and also the kidneys.
- The skull,
which contains the brain and protects it, is made up of different bones
which grow together during childhood. It has places for the eyes, and
the ears, and only has one moving part = the lower jaw bone, called the
mandible.
- The hands
are made up of many different bones which allow a huge variety of
movement. In fact, between the hands, wrists, and fingers, there are 54
bones!
- The pelvis,
which is the bowl-shaped structure that makes up the hips, attaches the
legs to the spine. The pelvis supports the spine, which supports the
entire upper body. The back of the pelvis is the sacrum, one of the
strongest bones in the body. During pregnancy, the ligaments soften and
get a little longer, allowing the bones of the pelvis to relax to fit a
baby through. The special hormone that causes this to happen is called
relaxin!
- The longest bone in the body is called the femur, which connects the pelvis to the knee.
- The
smallest bone in the body is in the middle ear, and is called the
stapes, which is latin for stirrup (this bone is shaped like a stirrup).
It is only 0.1 to 0.13 inches long!
- Bones are
broken down and remade constantly, just like skin. In fact, all of the
bones are slowly replaced until they are new bone once every 7 years!
- The insides
of some bones contain special material called bone marrow. Bone marrow
has lots of cells which make red blood cells. Red blood cells carry
oxygen all over the body. Every second, bone marrow produces two
million red blood cells!
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