Clinical Applications of Human Anatomy and Physiology for Healthcare Professionals. Jassin M. Jouria

      The Skeletal System

      Learning Objectives

      Upon completion of this chapter, the student shall be able to:

      1.Rationalize the classification and histology of bones.

      2.Describe the development, dynamics, and aging of the skeletal system.

      3.List the main structures and functions of the axial skeleton.

      4.List the main structures and functions of the appendicular skeleton.

      5.Explain the skeletal systems integration with the other organ systems of the human body.

      Case Study Introduction

      It’s nearly dusk on a cold winter night in late November. You and your partner are trained paramedics. Your team has just been dispatched to a community residential address. Five minutes ago, a man called 911 and reported that his fiancée is in excruciating pain, and cannot move.

      Once you arrive on scene, you notice a relatively young woman who appears to be in moderate distress. She is lying in bed complaining of pain throughout her back, neck, and legs. She appears to be breathing normally, with no wounds, injuries, or signs of life threats at the moment. Initially, there doesn’t seem to any cause or explanation for the patient’s pain.

      The fiancé tells you that the she has been complaining of increasing back pain for the last four months, and when he came home from work today he found her in bed – she told him that she couldn’t walk anymore. The patient denies any form of trauma, including assault, falls, or any heavy lifting.

      As you begin to perform a physical assessment of the patient, you tell your partner to bring a stretcher board and set up the equipment. Examination reveals a pulse of 112 beats per minute, a blood pressure of 116/78, respirations of 28 breaths a minute, with normal temperature. The skin is pink, warm, and dry. There are no obvious body deformities, injuries, wounds, or signs of swelling. A 3-lead ECG reads a normal sinus rhythm. The patient is fully alert and oriented and is able to respond to verbal commands. Your partner returns with the stretcher board and a cervical collar. You put the cervical collar on, and with the help of your partner, log-roll the patient onto the stretcher board. The crew helps load the patient into the ambulance. Once in the ambulance, you perform a more detailed assessment of the patient, and repeat the vital signs. You brainstorm possible causes of her agonizing yet obscure pain. Taking into account her young age and lack of external injury, you consider likely systemic possibilities and potential health conditions that could be a cause for her pain. You set up an IV and start the patient on two liters of oxygen via nasal cannula. You continue to obtain a full history and health report from the patient, as your partner transports with urgency…

      The primary structure of the skeletal system is composed of 206 bones buried deep in muscles and other soft tissues, providing the stable framework that supports the entire human body. It should be directly noted that bones are technically regarded as organs.

      However, some academic texts and professors will refer to bones as tissue. Bones are comprised of osseous tissue, or bone tissue, as well as other types of tissue: connective tissue, epithelium, and nervous tissue that collectively work together and function as a single unit, which is the very definition of an organ.

      Moreover, bones are living organs – they continuously adapt and aid the body in responding to varying environments. Nevertheless, our discussion of the skeletal system will begin with an overview of its function, followed by a classification of the types of bone, based on examination of their structure.

      From there, we will examine the microscopic structure of bone and analyze bone development, growth and the aging process. Once we cover this groundwork, we will then investigate specific bones and their organization in the human skeleton. We will conclude our studies with an overview of joints, or articulations, and the integration of the skeletal system with other organ systems of the human body.