Bones Of The Skeletal System Assignment Sample

Introduction of Bones Of The Skeletal System Assignment

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Task 1

The skeleton:

Skeletal system

Functions of the skeleton system

Support

The primary function of the skeleton is to provide a posture to the body and contribute to its support by attaching to the muscles. The movement and locomotion of the body are also dependent on a support system without which the structure would just fall apart.

Protection

This is one crucial function of the skeleton and this can be compared with a steel cage that stores valuable items. The skeleton protects the internal organs in the same way such that they are less susceptible to any kind of damage.

Attachment site for skeletal muscle

Muscles and bones work simultaneously to help the body move or withstand other significant functions (Watson and Kwon, 2020). These are both complementary to each other and hence the attachment between them plays the most important role in body movement.

Source of blood cell production

The “red bone marrow” of bones is an area where “blood cell production” takes place. The stem cells in this bone marrow are hemocytoblasts that convert to proerythroblasts and later on give rise to mature blood cells.

Store of minerals

The main constituents of bones are calcium and phosphorus and both play a huge role in the body's development. These minerals are supplied to other parts of the body from the bones and this helps in the proper functioning of the organs.

Task 2

Skeletal muscle

The contractibility function of skeletal muscle demonstrates its ability to contract and eventually the part it is attached to, also contracts. Another major function of skeletal muscles is its excitability and this refers to the ability to respond to any stimulus. Extensibility is also another property of this muscle and it is very just the opposite of the contractibility function. Both these functions come under the elastic characteristic of these muscles that give them the ability to stretch.

Chewing might be considered the primary thing that cannot be done without skeletal muscles and that is what makes it different from the other muscles. Another vital function of this type of muscle includes providing protection to the joints and holding them in their original places. The inhalation and exhalation of the chest cavity are also because of the skeletal muscles. These muscles also help in maintaining the posture of the body and also enable the movement of the bones in different parts. Although cardiac contractions fall under the functions of cardiac muscles, the circulation of blood can be categorized as a function of the skeletal muscles. These muscles also help in the generation of heat in the body to maintain thermoregulation.

Smooth muscle

These muscles have completely different characteristics and functions because these are associated with food digestion and the collection of nutrients. Elasticity and contractility are characteristic features of these muscles too and their structures are filamented.

Cardiac muscle

Similar to smooth muscles, cardiac muscles are also involuntary muscles and as evident from the name, the main function of these muscles is a contraction (Zullo et al. 2020). These contractions help the heart pump blood to the whole body and maintain its homeostasis in the heart itself.

Task 3

Antagonistic muscle

The antagonistic muscles are dependent on each other for their proper functioning in body movement. This process takes place in such a way that one muscle makes a particular part of the body contract and at the same time, the other muscle helps that part regain its initial position. The Co-ordination between the muscles is created by the paired movement of the muscles. There is a type of movement that is caused by the muscle named Agonist. The movement caused by the Agonist muscle is required to be countered in order to bring the coordination of the muscles. The Antagonist muscle is responsible for making the required action that counters the actions made by the Antagonist muscle. These muscles are the opposing muscles as they perform opposing actions to each other. The Flexion action caused at the elbow is initiated by the shortening of the biceps (Isaacnewtonacademy.org, 2021). On the other hand, the triceps being lengthened acts as the opposing action to the flexion action of the biceps. Therefore, the lengthening of the triceps here is performing the role of the antagonist. The antagonist action performed by the Triceps here is responsible for causing the relaxation of the muscles of the elbow.

The curvilinear movement of the biceps and triceps allow them to move the elbow in the required directions. One muscle relaxes while the other contracts and this movement continue. The brachii of the biceps that are located at the front portion of the arm start relaxing at the same time the brachii of the triceps start contracting. The concomitant muscles that are located at the back portion of the arm also help in this process by pulling down the arm from its ultimate flexed position. As per Odagiri et al. (2019), the anconeus muscles play a major role in the primary extension of the elbow and these works in synchronization with the brachii. This whole movement takes place with the straightening of the joint and increasing the angle between the muscles.

Task 4

The “sliding filament theory” includes six steps that explain the whole process of muscle contraction. The first step is the release of calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum followed by the binding of these ions to the troponin (Powers et al. 2021). This makes the troponin drag the tropomyosin from the cross-bridges, which are now open to bind with actin. These actin filaments settle in the centre of the sarcomere and make the muscles contract.

The six steps through which the Sliding Filament theory proceeds include the following steps

Step 1

This is the initiation of the process and during this step, the Calcium ions are seen to be released into the Sarcoplasm after being released from the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum. During this step, there is no occurrence of any movement in the Myosin Head (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2021). 

Step 2

The Acti binding sites are unblocked by the action of the Tropomyosin which is caused by the actions made by the Calcium ions. This process enables the formation of the cross-bridges between the filaments and the myosin heads. 

Step 3

The actin filaments are pulled towards the line with the help of the utilization of ATP by the Myosin heads. 

Step 4

The sarcomeres are shortened after the occurrence of the sliding movement of the Actin filaments going past the strands of myosin (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2021). This process is translated to be the process of contraction occurring in the muscles. 

Step 5

The Tropomyosins start to return to take part in the blocking process of the sites of calcium-binding after the process of removal of the cadmium ions from the sarcoplasm is done. 

Step 6

During the last step of the process, the cross bridges that were formed between actin and myosin are noticed to be getting broken. Therefore, after this process, the sarcomere is noticed to be returning to its original length with the occurrence of the process of sliding of both thick as well as thin filaments passing each other. They move away from each other during the last phase of the process and this concludes the sliding filament process. 

Task 5

The negative impact of kyphotic posture is that it weakens the back muscles and eventually the spinal curvature is also hampered. The tendons and ligaments attached to the backbone specifically are burdened with additional pressure. This gives the body a humpback structure.

Kyphosis is a condition of the spinal cord. The spinal cord is noticed to be curved outwards in an increased manner compared to that of normal people. Due to the change in the posture of the spinal cord, the body looks life rounded. Due to the impact of this, the body of the person looks hunched in the manner (Clevelandclinic.org, 2021). Therefore, often it is called a Hunchback. Thre are the presence of normal curves within the spine which is severely affected by the excessive curvature caused by Kyphosis and therefore results in difficulties in standing. 

The occurrence of Kyphosis is not oriented to causing health problems, rather these are oriented to the postural changes occurring in the body. However, in the severe cases of the condition, it is found to be seen to affect the breathing process of the person suffering from the process. 

There are impacts of Kypshosis found on muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and also the cartilage. 

Effect on Muscles

The tension in the muscles present in the shoulder is increased as an impact of Kyphosis. These include the muscles namely the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, as well as subclavius. Due to this, the shoulders are noticed to be showing an excessive amount of rotation internally. 

Effect on Joints

The joints are noticed to be suffering from unusual functionality due to the tension created in the muscles and also the occurrence of changes in the posture of the body (Clevelandclinic.org, 2021). The joints of the shoulder face such consequences. 

Effect on Tendons

The impacts caused on the tendons are similar to that of the muscles as an excessive stretch of the tendons increases the tension on the tendons. This often results in inflammation caused to the person suffering from the condition of Kyphosis. 

Effect on Ligaments

The ligaments that are meant for providing support are stretched more than usual and result in the curved form of the spine. An abnormal shape of the vertebrae is also seen as a result of the improper development of the vertebrae. 

Effect on Cartilage

Proper impacts of kyphosis on the cartilage are not found, however, the vertebral growth is impacted to become disorderly and the rate of growth of the Growth plate cartilage is also impacted due to the condition of Kyphosis.

Task 6

Poor lifting can cause sudden stress, which exceeds the normal amount of intake of the tendons. These tendons then get irritated and eventually the muscle-bone connection is disturbed. This sudden change causes inflammation and pain and swelling are two major results of this inflammation. The smooth muscles contribute to this phenomenon hugely because they respond to the pain stimuli and stimulate the nerve endings to cause pain.

References

Clevelandclinic.org, 2021. Kyphosis. News Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17671-kyphosis [Accessed on 21^st March, 2022]

Isaacnewtonacademy.org, 2021. Strucure and function of the muscular system. News Available at: https://isaacnewtonacademy.org/sites/default/files/Muscles_0.pdf [Accessed on 21^st March, 2022]

Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2021. Muscle contraction: Sliding filament history, sarcomere dynamics and the two Huxleys. News Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5642817/ [Accessed on 21^st March, 2022]

Odagiri, M., Oyama, M., Matsuzawa, S., Nakamura, Y., Koizumi, H., Fujime, C., Tazawa, A. and Ikeno, E., 2019. Function of the anconeus muscle in the elbow joint. Niigata journal of health and welfare, 19(2), pp.144-154.

Powers, J.D., Malingen, S.A., Regnier, M. and Daniel, T.L., 2021. The sliding filament theory since Andrew Huxley: multiscale and multidisciplinary muscle research. Annual review of biophysics, 50, pp.373-400.

Watson, C.J. and Kwon, R.Y., 2020. Skeletal System Morphophysiology. In The Zebrafish in Biomedical Research (pp. 109-114). Academic Press.

Zullo, L., Bozzo, M., Daya, A., Di Clemente, A., Mancini, F.P., Megighian, A., Nesher, N., Röttinger, E., Shomrat, T., Tiozzo, S. and Zullo, A., 2020. The diversity of muscles and their regenerative potential across animals. Cells, 9(9), p.1925.