Human Anatomy and Physiology - The Skeleton

Flashcards for reviewing the human skeleton, skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage.

What are the components of the skeletal system?

Bones, cartilages, joints, and ligaments

What percentage of body mass does the skeleton account for?

20%

What are the two major divisions of the skeleton?

Axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton

What are the three major regions of the axial skeleton?

Skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage

What are the three functions of the axial skeleton?

Form longitudinal axis of body, support head, neck, and trunk, protect brain, spinal cord, and thoracic organs

What two sets of bones form the skull?

Cranial bones and facial bones

What is the function of cranial bones?

Enclose the brain in the cranial cavity and provide sites of attachment for head and neck muscles

What is the function of facial bones?

Form framework of face, contain cavities for special sense organs, provide openings for air and food passage, secure teeth, and anchor facial muscles

What are the joints between most skull bones called?

Sutures

What does the cranial vault (calvaria) form?

Superior, lateral, and posterior portion of skull, as well as forehead

What does the cranial base form?

Inferior aspect of skull

What cavities does the cranium contain?

Middle and internal ear cavities, nasal cavity, and orbits

List the eight cranial bones.

Frontal, parietal (2), occipital, temporal (2), sphenoid, and ethmoid bones

What is the vertical part of the frontal bone also known as?

Squamous region / forehead

What passes through the supraorbital foramen (notch)?

Supraorbital artery and nerve

Where are the frontal sinuses located?

Just lateral to the glabella

Name the four sutures that mark articulations of parietal bones.

Coronal, sagittal, lambdoid, and squamous sutures

What bones does the occipital bone articulate with?

Parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones

What connects through the foramen magnum?

Brain connects with spinal cord

Which cranial nerve passes through the hypoglossal canal?

Cranial nerve XII

List the three major regions of the temporal bones.

Squamous, tympanic, and petrous

What articulates with the zygomatic bone to form the zygomatic arch?

Zygomatic processes

What does the tympanic region surround?

External acoustic meatus (external ear canal)

What does the petrous region house?

Middle and internal ear cavities

Which three cranial nerves pass through the jugular foramen?

Three cranial nerves

What is the passageway for the internal carotid artery?

Carotid canal

What are the mastoid and styloid processes areas for?

Attachment of several neck and tongue muscles

What is the keystone bone that articulates with all other cranial bones?

Sphenoid bone

What prominence includes the hypophyseal fossa area enclosing the pituitary gland?

Sella turcica

List the three pairs of processes of the sphenoid bone.

Greater wings, lesser wings, and pterygoid processes

What passes through the optic canals?

Optic nerves

List three foramina in the sphenoid bone that are passageways for cranial nerves.

Superior orbital fissure, foramen rotundum, and foramen ovale

What is the deepest skull bone?

Ethmoid bone

Where does the crista galli provide a point of attachment?

Brain's dura mater covering

What forms the superior part of the nasal septum?

Perpendicular plate

How many facial bones are there?

14

Which facial bones are single?

Mandible and vomer

What is the largest, strongest bone of the face?

Mandible

What is the point where the rami and chin of the mandible meet called?

Mandibular angle

What does the coronoid process serve as an insertion point for?

Temporalis muscle

What processes contain the sockets for teeth

Alveolar

What do maxillary bones form?

upper jaw and central facial skeleton

What forms two-thirds of the hard palate?

Palatine Process

What do zygomatic bones form?

Cheekbones and inferolateral margins of orbits

What forms the bridge of the nose?

Nasal bones

What bones form the medial walls of orbits?

Lacrimal bones

What do palatine bones form?

Posterior one-third of hard palate as well as part of posterolateral walls of the nasal cavity and a small part of the orbits

What do the inferior nasal conchae form?

Part of lateral walls of nasal cavity

Which bone does not articulate directly with another bone?

Hyoid Bone

What part of which bone does the lacrimal gland encase?

The Orbits

Which seven bones form the orbit?

Frontal, sphenoid, zygomatic, maxilla, palatine, lacrimal, and ethmoid

Which bones form the floor of the nasal cavity?

Processes of palatine and maxillary bones

Which bones form the bony posterior nasal septum?

Vomer and perpendicular plate of ethmoid

Which five skull bones form the paranasal sinuses

Frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid, and paired maxillary bones

What is another name for the vertebral column?

Spine or spinal column

What does the vertebral column transmit?

Weight of trunk to lower limbs, surround and protect spinal cord, provide attachment points for ribs and muscles

Into which five major regions is the vertebral column broken?

Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, coccyx

Which spinal curvatures are concave posteriorly?

Cervical and lumbar curvatures

Which spinal curvatures are convex posteriorly?

Thoracic and sacral curvatures

Which spinal ligaments help support the vertebral column?

Anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments and ligamentum flavum and short ligaments

What is the inner gelatinous nucleus of the intervertebral discs called?

Nucleus pulposus

What is the outer collar composed of collagen and fibrocartilage of the intervertebral discs called?

Anulus fibrosus

What does the vertebral arch consist of?

Pedicles and laminae

What are the lateral openings between vertebrae for passage of spinal nerves?

Intervertebral foramina

What are the seven processes of veterbrae

Spinous and transverse processes, superior and inferior articular processes

What are unique features of cervical vertebrae?

Oval-shaped body, except C7 spinous processes are split (bifid), large, triangular vertebral foramen, transverse foramen in each transverse process for artery passageways, C7 is vertebra prominens

What are unique features of thoracic vertebrae?

Body is heart shaped with two demifacets, T10 to T12 have only a single facet, not two, vertebral foramen is circular, long, sharp spinous process points inferiorly, transverse processes have transverse costal facets that articulate with ribs (except T11, T12)

What are unique features of lumbar vertebrae?

Short, thick pedicles and laminae, flat, hatchet-shaped spinous processes point posteriorly, vertebral foramen is triangular

What does the superior articular process of the sacrum articulate with?

L5

What is the tailbone?

Coccyx

What composes the thoracic cage?

Thoracic vertebrae posteriorly, sternum and costal cartilages anteriorly, ribs laterally

What does the sternum consist of?

Manubrium, body, and xiphoid process

Which ribs are true (vertebrosternal) ribs?

Pairs 1-7

Which ribs are false (vertebrochondral) ribs?

Pairs 8-10

Which ribs are vertebral (floating) ribs?

Pairs 11-12

What does the head of the rib articulate with?

Facets (demifacets) on bodies of two adjacent vertebrae

What is the purpose of the pectoral girdle?

attaches upper limbs to body trunk

what is the purpose of the pelvic girdle?

attaches lower limbs to body trunk

what two features make the pectoral girdle mobile?

Scapulae are not attached to axial skeleton, socket of shoulder joint is shallow and does not restrict movement

Which bone is also known as the collarbone?

Clavicle

What do the clavicles do?

Anchor muscles and act as braces to hold the scapulae and arms out laterally

Where does the surgical neck lie on the humerus?

most frequently fractured part of humerus

What is a Colles' fracture?

break in distal end of radius

What three fused bones form the coxal bone?

Ilium, ischium, and pubis

What bones make up the pelvis?

Hip bones, sacrum, and coccyx

What is the largest and strongest bone in the body?

Femur

Which two parallel bones form the leg?

Tibia and fibula

Which bones form the foot?

Tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges

By what week are skull bones connected by fontanelles?

By week 9