Bone Structure

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As a young man, I have had many collisions in life. Whether it was from sports or from an auto accident, I have been very lucky to not receive any broken bones. When I was in a serious automobile accident last year and walked away unharmed, I wondered how my body was able to withstand all that force, while my car was half its size. I learned that the bone is a very strong material that makes me function. My bones form a skeleton that provide the framework of my body. There are long, short, flat, and tiny bones found throughout my body. Some bones such as the ribs protect my organs from damage. The spinal vertebrae keep me upright while I am standing or sitting down. A bone is made up of two parts, compact part and spongy part. The compact area is what accounts for the strength of my bones, because it is dense, it is found on the perimeter of the bone. The spongy part of the bone is full of holes and is found on the inside of the bone. This makes the bone lightweight. The holes are like tunnels, which provide nutrients a passage for waste products. Collagen, a protein, gives bones their elasticity while calcium salts make them hard. Bone marrow, located in the center of our long bones, makes blood cells.

Bones are living tissues that constantly rebuild and change. As a baby, osteoblasts produce bigger and stronger bones. An osteoclast is found in our growing bones that resorbs bony tissue ( In order to maintain our bones are maintained by calcium and vitamin D. Without these nutrients, an adult can produce osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become extremely porous, are subject to fracture, and heal slowly, occurring especially in women following menopause and often leading to curvature of the spine from vertebral collapse.
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