SavannahBrock

5
BoneNamingandHistory

Theskeletalsystemplaysaveryimportantroleinmakingsurethehumanbodyfunctions
properly.Itismadeupof213bonesthatarefoundunderneaththeskin.Theyprotecttheorgans
andhelpthebodymove.Withoutbones,humanswouldntbetheshapethattheyare.Inthe
Renaissance,physiciansdiscussedthefunctionsandqualitiesoftheskeletalsystem.Galen,one
ofthephysicians,statedthat"Toprotectthesystemcompletely,itwasbetterforittoconsistof
manybones,andfurther,ofbonesjustashardastheyare...Natureconsequentlydidnotmerely
entrustitsdefensetotheskin,asshedidforthepartsintheabdomen,butfirst,beforetheskin
wasputon,sheinvesteditwithbonelikeahelmet."Thehumanskeleton,alongwithother
skeletons,havebeendiscussed,researched,anddrawnmanytimesthroughouttheyears.
Researchershavecomealongwayinadvancementsininformationovertheskeletalsystem.
Someofthemostimportantbonesinthebodyarethespine(whichismanysmallbonesthe
functiontogether),thepelvis,andtheskull.
Thespine(left)ismadeupof24smallbones,called
vertebrae,thatrunalongtheback.Betweenthesevertebrae
arediscsthataregellikecushionsthathelpstokeepthe
bonesfromrubbingagainstoneanotherandtohelpabsorb
pressure.Thespinecanmoveincertaindirections,because
therearejointscalledfacetjoints.Thesehelplinkthe
vertebraetogetheralongwithgroupsofligamentsholdthe
vertebraetogether.Therearealsotendonsthatjoinmuscles
tothebones.Anotherfunctionofthespinalcolumnisto
protectthespinalcord.Thisisanimportantcolumnofnerves
thatconnectsyourbraintotherestofyourbodyandallows
thebodytomove.Ifhumansdidnthaveaspinalcolumn,they
wouldnotbeabletostandupstraightorbendwiththe
flexibilitythattheycan.Itisnecessarytokeepyourspine
healthyifyouwanttoliveanactivelife.

Thepelvis(right)isaLatinwordthatmeans
basin.TheLatinwordisrootedtotheGreek
word
pella
,whichmeansdishorbowl.This
boneisfoundbelowthespine.Thehipbones,
sacrum,andcoccyxareallapartofthepelvis.
Thehipboneiscomposedofthreebones:the
ilium,theischium,andthepubis.Asyouget
older,thesefusetogether.Fivevertebral
bones,calledthesacrum,combinethepelvis
betweenthecrestsoftheilium.Thecoccyxis
fusedboneattheendofthevertebralcolumn

thatisfoundbelowthesacrum.Thepelvisistheareathatcontainsorholdsthesexualorgansand
severaldigestiveorgans.
Theskull(right)isoneofthemostimportantbonesinthe
body.Itholdsthebrain,alongwithotherimportantorgans,
andprotectsthemfrombeingdamaged.Thereare22bones
thatcometogethertomaketheskull.Thetwomainsections
oftheskullarethecraniumandthemandible.Themandible,
orjawbone,isresponsiblefortheopeningandclosingofthe
mouth,alongwiththemusclesandtendonsthathelpit
move.Theteetharealsoheldinthemandible,whichhelps
grindupthefoodthatisconsumed.Theorbit,whichisseen
asthetwolargeholesabovethemandible.housestheeyes
andopticnerves.Therearealsoholesonthesidesofthe
skullthatarecalledtheexternalauditorymeatuses.Thisis
wheretheearswouldbefound,alongwiththeeardrums,
whichhelpyouhear.Thespinalcordextendsfromaregionfoundinthebackoftheskullcalled
theforamenmagnum.Thisconnectsyourskulltotherestofyourbody.

Bone(Tissue)Histology
Left:Compactbonefrom
microscopicview.

Left:Periosteumbonefrommicroscopicview.
PictureandlabelingfromBlueHistologySkeletal
TissuesBone.(May6,2009)SchoolofAnatomy
andHumanBiologyTheUniversityofWestern
Australia.


BothAbove:Trabecularboneatmicroscopicview.PictureandlabelingfromBlueHistology
SkeletalTissuesBone.(May6,2009)SchoolofAnatomyandHumanBiologyTheUniversityof
WesternAustralia.

BoneMatrix

About60%ofthebonesweightismadeupofminerals,suchascalciumandphosphate.
Theremainingweightiswaterandmatrix,whichiscanbedeemedthescaffoldingforthebone
andisformedbeforethemineralisdeposited.Collagenmakesup90%ofthematrixandisvery
strong.Itformsbone,cartilage,tendons,andskin.Rickets/Osteomalaciaisadiseaseinwhichthe
bonesbecomesoft,becausetheyareabouthalfmatrix(osteoid).Usually,98%iftheosteoid
becomesmineralizedand2%isabouttogetmineralized.Inthisdisease,extraosteoidbuildsup,
becausethemineraldoesnotdeposititnormally.Thereasonthishappensisbecausethebones
arenotbeingsuppliedwithenoughmineralsorbecausetheosteoblastsarenotfunctioning
properly.Thebonecanbecomeassoftascartilage.Ricketsoccurswheneverthecartilageis
mineralizingatafastrateinthegrowthplates.OsteogenesisImperfectaisanotherdiseasethatis
causedbythemutationofthecollagengene.Thisproducesmorecollagenandmakesthebones
becomemorebrittleandlikelytobreak.Thediseaseisanautosomaldominanttraitandcanbe
inherited.Thefactthatitisanautosomaldominanttraitmeansthateachofthechildrenfroma
personwithonemutationhasa50%chanceofobtainingit.Peoplewiththisdiseaseareusually
shortandmayhaveabnormalteethorhearingproblems.Therearemildandseverecasesofthis
diseaseandinseverecases,infantsmaydiebecausetheirribscansupporttheirlungs.This
diseaseusuallybeginstoimproveafterpuberty,butcancomebackinwomenaftermenopause.


Belowisachartofrecordedinformationfromlookingatchickenbonesthathavegonethrough
differentprocesses.

Normal

VinegarSoakedBone

CookedBone

CollagenMatrix Collagenlevelis
evident.

Notpresent.

Highlevelofcollagen
present.

MineralSalts
Matrix

Mineralsaltlevel
remainsnormal.

Highlevelofcollagen
present.

Notpresent.

Diseaseor
Disorder

Nodiseaseor
disorderspresent.

CollagenVascular
Disease,Osteoporosis,
Rickets

OsteogenesisImperfecta
(BrittleBoneDisease)

Boneshaperemains
thesame,yellow,
flexible,soft,moist.

Shapeissamebut
impacted,notflexible,
hard,dry,spongyboneis
brittle.

Characteristics Red,semisoft,raw,
slightlyflexible.

CurrentBoneResearch

AtUCBerkeleyBioengineering,theyhavebeendoingresearchovercreatingspecifically
defined,bioinspirednanomaterialsthatcanbeusedtostudyintricateinterfacialphenomenaand
asfunctionalmaterials,therapeutics,anddevices.Theylookatthewaysnaturemanages
interactionsatinterfacesandselfassemblesworkingbionanomaterials.Theyaddressmanytopics
suchasproteinproteininterfaces,proteincellularinterfaces,proteinorganic/inorganicinterfaces,
andproteinelectronicinterfaces.Theyusegeneticengineeringtocreatenovelpeptidesorvirus
particles.Theythenusethemtomakefunctionalnanostructuresforregenerativemedicine,
biosensing,therapeutics,andenergygeneration.

ForensicsCaseStudies

Makingthedisappearedvisibleisacasestudyoverthedeathsofalmost20,000men,
women,andchildrenafterArgentina'smilitaryregimecommittedenormoushumansrights
violationsduringtheDirtyWarwithnoinformationontheirwhereabouts.Thenewcivilian
governmentinvitedforensicscientistsfromtheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementof
Scienceafterjuntafell.Them,alongwithagroupofrecruitedArgentinianuniversitystudentswho
wantedtogaintraining,excavatedhundredsofclandestinemassgraves.Themostdramaticcase
thescientistdiscoveredwasawoman,LilianaPereyra,whowasabducted,tortured,raped,and
murderedafterbearingachildwhohasneverbeenfound.Thisleadtothecreationofthe
ArgentineForensicAnthropologyTeamwhichisdedicatedtoinvestigatinghumanrightsabuses
byusingforensicsciences.ForensicScientistscanfindoutmanythingsjustfromthebonesofa
human.Onethingyoucandecipher,isthesex.Malesskullsarelarger,morepronounced,and

haveamorepronouncedjaw.Thereisamoreprominentsupraorbitalridgeandmorerectangular
eyesockets.Thepelvisofamaleskeletonisvshapedsubpubicarchandlessspacious.The
coccyxislessmovableandthesciaticnotchisnarrow.Also,theanteriorsuperioriliacspineis
closer.Forafemale,theskullismorenarrow,alongwiththejawandapointierchin.Theeye
socketsseemtodroopslighting,thereisalessprominentsupraorbitalridge,andthetemporal
muscleattachmentareaislessrigidthanthatofamales.Thepelvisisushapedsubpubicarch
andismorespacious.Thecoccyxismoremovable,thesciaticnotchiswide,andtheanterior
superioriliacspineiswideapart.Youcanalsotelltheageoftheskeletonfromthebones.In
infants,thelongbonesaremostlymadeofcartilageandastheygrow,bonegraduallyreplaces
thecartilage.Inhumansages1725,normalgrowthstopsandtheskeletonisasitmaximum
height.Therearealsofewerbonesthantheystartedoutwith.Inadultsover25,boneremodeling
iscanbeseenmostlyonthebonesurfaceofthecranium,pubicbones,andribs,becauseithas
beentakingplaceforanextendedtime.Olderadultshavesmallerosteonsandmoreosteon
fragments.Inseniors,orelderlypeople,bonesarelessdenseandmorefragile,alongwith
cartilagethinninginthejoints.Thereareanumberofwaystodiscoverwhoaskeletonbelongsto,
whichareallusedbyforensicscientists.

WorksCited:

U.S.NationalLibraryofMedicine,8600RockvillePike,Bethesda,MD20894h.Makingthe
disappearedvisible.December3,2014.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/galleries/cases/disappeared.html

UCBerkeleyBioengineeringatLawrenceBerkelyNationalLaboratory.Researchat
BioInspiredNanomaterialLab.2013.
http://leelab.berkeley.edu/research.php

AmericanSocietyforBoneandMineralResearch.ASBMRBoneCurriculum.August4,2008.
https://depts.washington.edu/bonebio/ASBMRed/ASBMRed.html