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Theriault

Richard Theriault

Alana C. Evans

Human Biology

April 9, 2010

The Big Picture: Skeletal System

Make no bones about it. The skeletal system is very important as it provides the framework for the body. Think of your body as a building. The nerves are the wiring, the plumbing is the urinary system, the windows are the eyes and that makes bones the framework. I am not going to discuss what the exit doors represent. If we had no bones, we would look vastly different than we currently do, and definitely a lot shorter in stature. So what do bones actually do?

Bones offer support and definition for your physique. While we are talking about bones and physique, I want to dispel the rumor that people can be big-boned1. While bones come in different lengths, thicknesses and configurations, you never see a fat skeleton, so stop using that excuse if you are overweight and just put the fork down, please. Dinosaurs are big boned2. Some people can certainly have bigger frames than others can, but stating that you are big-boned as a shield for obesity may actually indicate increased cranial bone density.3 I for one, am not falling for it.

By far, the best way to study the skeleton is to go about 4-6 weeks without eating and you will get a great idea of where your bones are and what they look like. Otherwise, you can look at photos of Tori Spelling, Mary-Kate Olsen or Ashley Olsen, who routinely get mistaken for Halloween decorations.

The first bones we will discuss are bones that form a basic frame called an axial skeleton that consists of your skull, spine and rib cage. Your skull consists of twenty-two bones, most of which are joined together and look like one big skull-shaped bone, if you ask me. I can clearly make out the mandible as a separate bone, but beyond that, the names are all Greek to me. Wait, what we call the skull is actually called the cranium, which is a Greek word for skull, which is what I wanted to call it in the first place. Those zany Greeks.

1

This may be indicative of older generations in a similar manner that my father was surprised that his two children had asthma when neither he nor my mother were inflicted with this condition. Years later, we discovered that my father had been on prednisone tablets for a long time because he had "breathing difficulties." Ta-may-toh, ta-mah-toe...

2

Quoted from George Carlin.

3

Why is being bone-headed or thick in the head considered an insult? Aren't we all bone-headed? Isn't bone density a positive condition?