The Skeletal System serves many important functions; it provides the shape and form for our bodies in addition to supporting, protecting, allowing bodily movement, producing blood for the body, and storing minerals.
A skeleton is an inner framework made of bone and cartilage. Bones are the hard material of a skeleton. A human skeleton generally forms about 206 separate bones out of cartilage as it develops to maturity. Bones are connected to adjacent bones by joints. Joints are either movable as in the arm and leg or immovable as in the skull.
The human skeleton is divided into two distinct parts namely the Axial skeleton and the Appendicular skeleton.
The Axial Skeleton consists of bones that form the axis of the body and support and protect the organs of the head, neck, and trunk. The main organs of the axial skeleton are the skull, the sternum, the ribs and the vertebral column.
The Appendicular skeleton is composed of bones that anchor the appendages to the axial skeleton. It includes the upper extremities, the lower extremities, the Shoulder Girdle and the Pelvic Girdle.
The Human Biology site gives a full description of the various functions and components of the Human Skeletal System.
