Cartilage, Bone, Skeleton & Articulations – Lecture Review

Comprehensive Q&A flashcards covering cartilage types, bone structure, skeletal anatomy, major bones, joints, movements, and clinical correlations from the provided lecture notes.

What are the three major types of cartilage?

Hyaline cartilage, fibrocartilage, and elastic cartilage.

List two locations where hyaline cartilage is found.

Costal cartilages of ribs; articular cartilage on ends of long bones (also nose, fetal skeleton, etc.).

Which cartilage type is best at resisting compression and forms intervertebral discs?

Fibrocartilage.

What cartilage type is found in the external ear and epiglottis?

Elastic cartilage.

Give four functions of cartilage.

Supports soft tissues, forms C-shaped tracheal rings, provides smooth gliding surfaces at articulations, and serves as a model for bone development (also cushioning/protection).

State five functions of bone.

Support & protection, movement, hemopoiesis (blood cell production), storage of minerals (Ca2+, phosphate) and energy reserves (fat).

Name the four structural classes of bones.

Long bones, short bones, flat bones, and irregular bones.

Where are flat bones commonly found?

Skull, scapula, sternum, ribs.

Define ‘diaphysis’.

The elongated shaft of a long bone.

What region lies between diaphysis and epiphysis and contains the growth plate?

Metaphysis.

What type of marrow fills the medullary cavity of adult long bones?

Yellow bone marrow (fat).

Identify the two layers of the periosteum.

Outer fibrous layer; inner cellular layer (osteogenic).

Which bone cells form new bone matrix?

Osteoblasts.

What is the mature bone cell that maintains the matrix?

Osteocyte.

Which large multinucleated cell resorbs bone?

Osteoclast.

Organic component of bone matrix is called .

Osteoid (contains collagen & ground substance).

The inorganic component that gives bone hardness is mainly .

Hydroxyapatite (calcium phosphate + calcium hydroxide).

Define ‘osteon’.

Cylindrical structural unit of compact bone consisting of concentric lamellae surrounding a central canal.

Intramembranous ossification forms which major bones?

Flat bones of skull, some facial bones, mandible, and clavicle.

Endochondral ossification begins with a model made of cartilage.

Hyaline cartilage.

What is the first step of fracture repair?

Formation of a fracture hematoma.

Name the five zones of the epiphyseal plate (from epiphysis to diaphysis).

Resting cartilage, proliferating cartilage, hypertrophic cartilage, calcified cartilage, ossification.

Growth in bone width occurs by growth at the periosteum.

Appositional.

What is achondroplastic dwarfism?

A genetic disorder where long bone growth is stunted due to abnormal epiphyseal plate activity.

Differentiate stress fracture and pathologic fracture.

Stress fracture results from repetitive stress; pathologic fracture results from disease-weakened bone.

Give the common name for a transverse distal radius fracture.

Colles fracture.

Which bone marking term describes a smooth, rounded articular surface?

Condyle.

A narrow slit-like opening in bone is called a .

Fissure.

What bone marking is a sharp, slender projection for ligament attachment?

Spine.

How many bones comprise the axial skeleton?

80 bones.

List the four major regions of the axial skeleton.

Skull, vertebral column, thoracic cage, and hyoid bone.

State three functions of the axial skeleton.

Supports & protects organs, houses special sense organs, provides surface for muscle attachment, and performs hemopoiesis.

How many cranial bones are there and name two unpaired ones.

Eight cranial bones; unpaired examples: frontal, occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid.

Which bone forms the posterior base of the skull and contains the foramen magnum?

Occipital bone.

What bone is the keystone of the cranial floor, articulating with all other cranial bones?

Sphenoid bone.

Name the bone that does not articulate with any other bone.

Hyoid bone.

How many cervical vertebrae exist and which one is atlas?

Seven; the first cervical vertebra (C1) is the atlas.

What unique feature does the axis (C2) possess?

The dens (odontoid process).

Define ‘lordosis’.

An exaggerated lumbar curvature (swayback).

A lateral curvature of the spine is called .

Scoliosis.

Differentiate true, false, and floating ribs.

True ribs (1-7) attach directly to sternum; false ribs (8-12) do not; floating ribs (11-12) lack sternal attachment.

Which bones form the pectoral girdle?

Clavicle and scapula.

The glenoid cavity articulates with which bone?

Head of the humerus.

List the eight carpal bones from lateral (thumb) to medial in proximal then distal rows.

Scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform; trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate.

How many phalanges are in one hand?

Fourteen phalanges.

Name the three fused bones of an os coxae.

Ilium, ischium, and pubis.

Which gender has a wider subpubic angle and larger pelvic inlet?

Females.

What bones form the hip (coxal) joint?

Head of femur and acetabulum of os coxae.

Which bone is lateral in the leg?

Fibula.

What bone bears body weight in the lower leg?

Tibia.

State the mnemonic for tarsal bones starting at the heel.

Calcaneus, Talus, Navicular, Medial cuneiform, Intermediate cuneiform, Lateral cuneiform, Cuboid (CTN MILC).

Name the three arches of the foot.

Medial longitudinal, lateral longitudinal, and transverse arches.

Define ‘pes planus’.

Flat foot; loss of medial longitudinal arch.

What is an articulation?

A junction where two bones meet; a joint.

Rank the general joint types from most mobile to most stable.

Synovial (most mobile), cartilaginous, fibrous (most stable).

Give an example of a fibrous gomphosis.

Tooth anchored in its alveolus by periodontal ligaments.

The epiphyseal plate is what type of cartilaginous joint?

Synchondrosis (hyaline cartilage, immobile).

Identify the two layers of a typical articular capsule.

Outer fibrous layer and inner synovial membrane.

What two functions does synovial fluid serve?

Lubricates & nourishes articular cartilage; absorbs shock.

What is a bursa?

A synovial fluid-filled sac that reduces friction between moving structures.

Define ‘tendon sheath’.

Elongated bursa that wraps around a tendon to reduce friction.

Name the three functional categories of synovial joints based on number of axes.

Uniaxial, biaxial, and multiaxial.

Give one example of a pivot joint.

Atlanto-axial joint (dens of axis with atlas).

What synovial joint type is found at the elbow?

Hinge joint (uniaxial).

Which joint type allows opposition of the thumb?

Saddle joint between trapezium and first metacarpal (biaxial).

The shoulder (glenohumeral) joint is classified as .

Ball-and-socket (multiaxial).

Define abduction and adduction.

Abduction moves limb away from midline; adduction moves it toward midline.

What movement turns the forearm so the palm faces posteriorly?

Pronation.

Elevation vs. depression – give an example joint.

TMJ: closing mouth elevates mandible; opening depresses mandible.

Name the ligament injured in a ‘Tommy John’ surgery.

Ulnar (medial) collateral ligament of the elbow.

Which two bones form the radiocarpal (wrist) joint with the radius?

Scaphoid and lunate.

List the three components of the knee’s ‘unhappy triad’.

Torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), torn tibial (medial) collateral ligament (MCL), torn medial meniscus.

Which ligament attaches the head of the femur to the acetabulum?

Ligament of head of femur (ligamentum teres).

The ankle (talocrural) joint is primarily a joint.

Hinge joint permitting dorsiflexion and plantar flexion.

Compare inversion and eversion.

Inversion turns sole medially; eversion turns sole laterally.

Describe gouty arthritis.

Inflammatory joint disease caused by uric acid crystal deposition.

What characterizes osteoarthritis?

Degenerative ‘wear-and-tear’ erosion of articular cartilage and formation of bone spurs.

Rheumatoid arthritis is best described as .

An autoimmune disease causing chronic inflammation of synovial membranes leading to joint deformation.

Which joint is both a hinge and plane joint allowing small gliding?

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Name the broad fibrocartilage structure deepening the hip socket.

Acetabular labrum.

What structure passes through the vertebral foramen?

Spinal cord.

What is the nucleus pulposus?

Gel-like core of an intervertebral disc that resists compression.

Define ‘herniated disc’.

Protrusion of nucleus pulposus through torn anulus fibrosus, potentially compressing spinal nerves.

Which rib feature articulates with the transverse process of thoracic vertebrae?

Tubercle of the rib (articular facet).

The ‘acromial end’ of the clavicle articulates with which bone?

Scapula (at the acromion).

Which tarsal bone directly receives body weight from the tibia?

Talus.

What term describes bone formation within tendons (e.g., patella)?

Sesamoid bone formation.

Give the clinical name for “clubfoot.”

Talipes equinovarus.

Which layer of skin contains the arrector pili muscle and sebaceous glands highlighted early in the slides?

Dermis (specifically the reticular layer).

What is the primary mineral stored in bone and required for muscle contraction?

Calcium.

Define ‘hemopoiesis’ and where it occurs in adults.

Blood cell production; occurs in red bone marrow of spongy bone (e.g., head of femur, flat bones).

Which fracture is incomplete and typically seen in children?

Greenstick fracture.

What type of fracture breaks the bone into three or more pieces?

Comminuted fracture.

Name the depression that houses the pituitary gland on the sphenoid bone.

Sella turcica.

Which cranial fossa supports the cerebellum?

Posterior cranial fossa.

Identify the major passage in the occipital bone for the spinal cord.

Foramen magnum.