Chapter 07 The Skeleton

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and definitions related to the skeleton, including types of bones, features of the vertebral column, and anatomical terms relevant to the study of anatomy.

Axial Skeleton

The part of the skeleton that consists of the skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage, comprising 80 bones.

Appendicular Skeleton

The part of the skeleton that includes the bones of the limbs and their girdles.

Cranial Bones

Eight bones that compose the cranium; they enclose the brain.

Facial Bones

Fourteen bones that form the framework of the face and contain cavities for sensory organs and openings for air and food passage.

Foramina

Named openings in the skull, which provide passageways for spinal cord, major blood vessels, and cranial nerves.

Pelvic Girdle

Also called the hip girdle; formed by the two hip bones and sacrum; transmits weight of upper body to lower limbs.

Intervertebral Discs

Cushionlike pads between vertebrae that act as shock absorbers.

True Ribs

The first seven pairs of ribs that attach directly to the sternum.

False Ribs

The eighth, ninth, and tenth pairs of ribs that attach indirectly to the sternum via the cartilage of the ribs above.

Floating Ribs

The eleventh and twelfth pairs of ribs which have no attachment to the sternum.

Capitulum

The distal ball-like condyle of the humerus that articulates with the radius.

Coxal Bone

The hip bone; consists of ilium, ischium, and pubis.

Nucleus Pulposus

The inner gelatinous core of an intervertebral disc.

Cleft Palate

A congenital condition where there is no medial fusion of the right and left halves of the palate.

Paranasal Sinuses

Mucosa-lined, air-filled spaces formed from five skull bones that function to warm and humidify air.

Sutures

Immovable joints that connect most bones of the skull, characterized by a serrated, saw-tooth appearance.

Hyoglossal Canal

A passageway in the occipital bone allowing cranial nerve to pass through.

Lumbar Curvature

The inward curvature of the lumbar region that can become accentuated (lordosis).

Scoliosis

An abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.