Skeletal system Flashcards
What is a hydrostatic skeleton and example organisms
- fluid filled cavity surrounded by muscles
- e.g. jellyfish, earthworm, snail

(Image: https://www.slideshare.net/nirmalajosephine1/biology-form-5-chapter-2-locomotion-support-21-part-1)
How does a hydrostatic skeleton work?
- Fluid provides support against muscles that contract
- The pressure that the fluid exerts changes the animals shape according to which muscles are contracting
- This brings about movements

(image: http://faculty.fmcc.suny.edu/mcdarby/BIO170Book/12-AnimalStructure.html)
Advantages of a hydrostatic skeleton
- Anatomy simple, no extra support organs needed
- Body elastic and can change shape easily
- No need for a specialised support system, living in water, the water provides support
Disadvantages of hydrostatic skeleton
- Animals are slow in moving
- Require aquatic or moist environment
- Limited size of animal
- No protection from skeleton
What is an exoskeleton and examples of animals
- An external skeleton
- made of chitin on the outside of the animals body
- E.g. arthropods (insects)
- Some animals have it further hardened with calcium carbonate (e.g. crabs)

(Image: http://www.dierk-raabe.com/biological-natural-materials/)
Advantages of an exoskeleton
- Supports and protects underlying tissue and organs
- The inside is a place of attachment for muscles
- The skeleton has joints for flexibility
- Quick movement possible
- The skeleton prevents desiccation (drying out)
Disadvantages of an exoskeleton
- Limited size of the animal as it is heavy
- Larger, heavier animals have more limited movement
- Limits growth and the animal needs to moult
- Moulting leaves the animal vulnerable as a new skeleton forms
- Exoskeleton impermeable to gases so a specialized respiratory system needed.
What is an Endoskeleton and examples of animals
- An internal skeleton on the inside of the animals body
- made of bone and cartilage
- Found in vertebrates e.g. fish, frogs, reptiles and mammals
Advantages of an Endoskeleton
- skeletal tissues grow as the animal grows
- protects vital organs e.g. Brain
- provides good structure to give the body shape
- provides a place for muscles to attach for movement
- joints between bones make the body flexible
Disadvantages of Endoskeleton
- More vulnerable to desiccation (drying out)
- No outer protection
Vertebrate animals
- Animals with a vertebral column made of bone or cartilage
- Members of the phylum Chordata
- e.g. fish, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals

(Image: http://byjus.com/biology/vertebrates/)
Invertebrate animals
- Animals without a vertebral column
- about 95% of animals are in this group
- e.g. jellyfish, flatworms, roundworms and arthropods
Different types of skeletons in animals
- Hydrostatic skeleton
- Exoskeleton
- Endoskeleton
Joints
The junction in the skeleton where two or more bones meet and are joined by ligaments or cartilage
immovable joints
- A joint not allowing any movement
- e.g. serrated joints between bones of the cranium
semi-movable joints
- Joints that allow a small amount of movement
- e.g. between vertebra
synovial joints
Joints allowing free movement
parts of a synovial joint
- Bones covered with hyaline cartilage
- A enclosing sac made of ligament called the joint capsule
- Capsule lined with a synovial membrane
- Capsule contains synovial fluid
- Ligaments attach the two bones of the joint
Types of synovial joint
- Ball and socket joints e.g. hip and shoulder
- Hinge joints e.g. elbow and knee
- Pivot joints e.g. atlas and axis
- Gliding joint e.g. wrist and ankle joints
x-Ray photo’s
- High energy x-rays penetrate soft tissue and less so bones
- making it possible to visualize the internal skeleton.
- Used by doctors to diagnose bone fractures and dislocation of joints
skeletal muscles
- Muscles attached to the skeleton
- to bring about movement of parts of the body.
- Attached by in elastic tendons
- They have light and dark bands (striated)
- They are voluntary muscles
Structure of skeletal muscles
- Made up of many muscle fibres (muscle cells)
- bound together by connective tissue into perimysium bundles
- Perimysium bundles are bound together to form the epimysium, the complete skeletal muscle

(Image: https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/muscular/structure.html)
Structure of a muscle fibre
- A single elongated cylindrical cell
- Consists of thousands of myofibrils
- Myofibrils contain myosin and actin protein filaments
- Myosin thicker and darker than actin giving the fibre a banded appearance
Sarcomere of a muscle fibre
- A functional unit of a muscle allowing it to contract.
- Region where actin and myosin filaments overlap.


