Our skeletal system has some very important functions. These functions can be broken up into six different categories; support, movement, protection, blood production, storage, hormone regulation. Our bones are the main thing that holds a person up. Bones by themselves cannot stand up, but the bones are needed as a framework for muscles, tendons, and ligaments to attach to. Similar to how a house is built. You must have the frame built to attach everything else in the house. Without our bones humans would be blobs.
Our bones are extremely important for our movement. The places where our bones meet are known as joints. Some joints are movable, like the ones in our arms and legs. There are others that are not moveable such as our ribs where they meet the sternum. There are several types moving joints. The ball and socket joint can be found in the legs where they attach to the hip as well as in the arms at the shoulder. This type of joints allows for a further range of motion. Gliding joints can be found in our wrists. As the name suggests they allow for a gliding motion between bones. The joint that allows our elbows to move is known as the hinge joint. This joint allows movement in only one direction. The joint that allows us movement at the knee is called the compound joint. Like the pivot joint it allows for rotation only in one direction. These joints are all a type of synovial joint. This type of joint has fibers known as ligaments that attach the two bones together. Inside the joint is a lubricating fluid and cartilage to allow for smooth movement in the joint.
The actual movement of our bones is done by the muscles in our bodies. Fibers known as tendons attach the muscles to the bones. When the muscles contract they pull on the tendons which in turn pulls on the bones. Having muscles and tendons on both sides of a movable joint in our bodies allows for muscles to move back and forth allowing us to move about.
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