skeletal system, human

▪ anatomy

Introduction

 the internal skeleton that serves as a framework for the body. This framework consists of many individual bones (bone) and cartilages (cartilage). There also are bands of fibrous connective tissue—the ligaments (ligament) and the tendons (tendon)—in intimate relationship with the parts of the skeleton. This article is concerned primarily with the gross structure and the function of the skeleton of the normal human adult.

      The human skeleton, like that of other vertebrates (vertebrate), consists of two principal subdivisions, each with origins distinct from the others and each presenting certain individual features. These are (1) the axial, comprising the vertebral column—the spine—and much of the skull, and (2) the appendicular, to which the pelvic (hip) and pectoral (shoulder) girdles and the bones and cartilages of the limbs belong. Discussed in this article as part of the axial skeleton is a third subdivision, the visceral, comprising the lower jaw, some elements of the upper jaw, and the branchial arches, including the hyoid bone.

      When one considers the relation of these subdivisions of the skeleton to the soft parts of the human body—such as the nervous system (nervous system, human), the digestive system (digestive system, human), the respiratory system (respiration, human), the cardiovascular system (human cardiovascular system), and the voluntary muscles of the muscle system (muscle system, human)—it is clear that the functions of the skeleton are of three different types: support, protection, and motion. Of these functions, support is the most primitive and the oldest; likewise, the axial part of the skeleton was the first to evolve. The vertebral column, corresponding to the notochord in lower organisms, is the main support of the trunk.

      The central nervous system lies largely within the axial skeleton, the brain being well protected by the cranium and the spinal cord by the vertebral column, by means of the bony neural arches (the arches of bone that encircle the spinal cord) and the intervening ligaments.

      A distinctive characteristic of humans as compared with other mammals is erect posture. The human body is to some extent like a walking tower that moves on pillars, represented by the legs. Tremendous advantages have been gained from this erect posture, the chief among which has been the freeing of the arms for a great variety of uses. Nevertheless, erect posture has created a number of mechanical problems—in particular, weight bearing. These problems have had to be met by adaptations of the skeletal system.

      Protection of the heart, lungs (lung), and other organs and structures in the chest creates a problem somewhat different from that of the central nervous system. These organs, the function of which involves motion, expansion, and contraction, must have a flexible and elastic protective covering. Such a covering is provided by the bony thoracic basket, or rib cage, which forms the skeleton of the wall of the chest, or thorax. The connection of the ribs to the breastbone—the sternum—is in all cases a secondary one, brought about by the relatively pliable rib (costal) cartilages. The small joints between the ribs and the vertebrae permit a gliding motion of the ribs on the vertebrae during breathing and other activities. The motion is limited by the ligamentous attachments between ribs and vertebrae.

      The third general function of the skeleton is that of motion (locomotion). The great majority of the skeletal muscles are firmly anchored to the skeleton, usually to at least two bones and in some cases to many bones. Thus, the motions of the body and its parts, all the way from the lunge of the football player to the delicate manipulations of a handicraft artist or of the use of complicated instruments by a scientist, are made possible by separate and individual engineering arrangements between muscle and bone.

      In this article the parts of the skeleton are described in terms of their sharing in these functions. The disorders and injuries that can affect the human skeleton are described in the article bone disease.

Axial and visceral skeleton

The cranium

  The cranium—the part of the skull that encloses the brain—is sometimes called the braincase, but its intimate relation to the sense organs for sight, sound, smell, and taste and to other structures makes such a designation somewhat misleading.

Development of cranial bones

      The cranium is formed of bones of two different types of developmental origin—the cartilaginous, or substitution, bones, which replace cartilages (cartilage) preformed in the general shape of the bone; and membrane bones, which are laid down within layers of connective tissue. For the most part, the substitution bones form the floor of the cranium, while membrane bones form the sides and roof.

      The range in the capacity of the cranial cavity is wide but is not directly proportional to the size of the skull, because there are variations also in the thickness of the bones and in the size of the air pockets, or sinuses. The cranial cavity has a rough, uneven floor, but its landmarks and details of structure generally are consistent from one skull to another.

 The cranium forms all the upper portion of the skull, with the bones of the face situated beneath its forward part. It consists of a relatively few large bones, the frontal bone, the sphenoid bone, two temporal bones, two parietal bones, and the occipital bone (occipital). The frontal bone underlies the forehead region and extends back to the coronal suture, an arching line that separates the frontal bone from the two parietal bones, on the sides of the cranium. In front, the frontal bone forms a joint with the two small bones of the bridge of the nose and with the zygomatic bone (which forms part of the cheekbone; see below The facial bones and their complex functions (skeletal system, human)), the sphenoid, and the maxillary bones. Between the nasal and zygomatic bones, the horizontal portion of the frontal bone extends back to form a part of the roof of the eye socket, or orbit; it thus serves an important protective function for the eye (eye, human) and its accessory structures.

      Each parietal bone has a generally four-sided outline. Together they form a large portion of the side walls of the cranium. Each adjoins the frontal, the sphenoid, the temporal, and the occipital bones and its fellow of the opposite side. They are almost exclusively cranial bones, having less relation to other structures than the other bones that help to form the cranium.

Interior of the cranium

      The interior of the cranium shows a multitude of details, reflecting the shapes of the softer structures that are in contact with the bones.

      The internal surface of the vault is relatively uncomplicated. In the midline front to back, along the sagittal suture, the seam between the two parietal bones, is a shallow depression—the groove for the superior longitudinal venous sinus, a large channel for venous blood. A number of depressions on either side of it mark the sites of the pacchionian bodies, structures that permit the venous system to absorb cerebrospinal fluid. The large thin-walled venous sinuses all lie within the cranial cavity. While they are thus protected by the cranium, in many places they are so close beneath the bones that a fracture or a penetrating wound may tear the sinus wall and lead to bleeding. The blood frequently is trapped beneath the outermost and toughest brain covering, the dura mater, in a mass called a subdural hematoma.

      Conspicuous markings on the internal surface of the projection of the sphenoid, called the greater wing, and on the internal surfaces of the parietal and temporal bones are formed by the middle meningeal artery and its branches, which supply blood to the brain coverings. Injury to these vessels may lead to extradural hematoma, a mass of blood between the dura mater and the bone.

      In contrast to the vault and sides of the cranium, the base presents an extremely complicated aspect. It is divided into three major depressions, or fossae, in a descending stair-step arrangement from front to back. The fossae are divided strictly according to the borders of the bones of the cranium but are related to major portions of the brain. The anterior cranial fossa serves as the bed in which rest the frontal lobes of the cerebrum, the large forward part of the brain. The middle cranial fossa, sharply divided into two lateral halves by a central eminence of bone, contains the temporal lobes of the cerebrum. The posterior cranial fossa serves as a bed for the hemispheres of the cerebellum (a mass of brain tissue behind the brain stem and beneath the rear portion of the cerebrum) and for the front and middle portion of the brain stem (brainstem). Major portions of the brain are thus partially enfolded by the bones of the cranial wall.

      There are openings in the three fossae for the passage of nerves and blood vessels, and the markings on the internal surface of the bones are from the attachments of the brain coverings—the meninges—and venous sinuses and other blood vessels.

      The anterior cranial fossa shows a crestlike projection in the midline, the crista galli (“crest of the cock”). This is a place of firm attachment for the falx cerebri, a subdivision of dura mater that separates the right and left cerebral hemispheres. On either side of the crest is the cribriform (pierced with small holes) plate of the ethmoid bone, a midline bone important as a part both of the cranium and of the nose. Through the perforations of the plate run many divisions of the olfactory, or first cranial, nerve, coming from the mucous membrane of the nose. At the sides of the plate are the orbital plates of the frontal bone, which form the roofs of the eye sockets. Their inner surfaces are relatively smooth but have a number of sharp irregularities more obvious to the touch than to the sight. These irregularities mark attachments of dura mater to bone.

      The rear part of the anterior cranial fossa is formed by those portions of the sphenoid bone called its body and lesser wings. Projections from the lesser wings, the anterior clinoid (bedlike) processes, extend back to a point beside each optic foramen, an opening through which important optic nerves (optic nerve), or tracts, enter into the protection of the cranial cavity after a relatively short course within the eye socket.

      The central eminence of the middle cranial fossa is specialized as a saddlelike seat for the pituitary gland. The posterior portion of this seat, or sella turcica (“Turk's saddle”), is actually wall-like and is called the dorsum sellae. The pituitary gland is thus situated in almost the centre of the cranial cavity. It is covered also by the brain coverings and has no connection with the exterior of the cranium except by blood vessels.

      The deep lateral portions of the middle cranial fossa contain the temporal lobes of the cerebrum. In the forward part of the fossa are two openings: the superior orbital fissure, opening into the eye cavity; and the foramen rotundum, for the passage of the maxillary nerve, which serves the upper jaw and adjacent structures. Farther back are the conspicuous foramen ovale, an opening for the mandibular nerve to the lower jaw, and the foramen spinosum, for the middle meningeal artery, which brings blood to the dura mater.

      Also in the middle fossa, near the apex of that part of the temporal bone called the petrous (stonelike) temporal bone, is the jagged opening called the foramen lacerum. The lower part of the foramen lacerum is blocked by fibrocartilage, but through its upper part passes the internal carotid artery, surrounded by a network of autonomic nerves, as it makes its way to the interior of the cranial cavity.

      The delicate structures of the internal ear (ear, human) are not entrusted to the cranial cavity as such but lie within the petrous portion of the temporal bone in a bony labyrinth, into which the thin-walled membranous labyrinth, with its areas of sensory cells, is more or less accurately fitted but with an adequate space for protective fluid, the perilymph, between bone and membrane.

      The posterior cranial fossa is above the vertebral column and the muscles of the back of the neck. The foramen magnum, the opening through which the brain and the spinal cord make connection, is in the lowest part of the fossa. Between its forward margin and the base of the dorsum sellae is a broad, smooth, bony surface called the clivus (Latin for “hill”). The bridgelike pons and the pyramid-like medulla oblongata of the brain stem lie upon the clivus and are separated from the bone only by their coverings. Near the foramen magnum are ridges for attachment of folds of the dura mater.

      In the sides of the posterior cranial fossa are two transverse grooves, each of which, in part of its course, is separated by extremely thin bone from the mastoid air cells in back of the ear. Through other openings, the jugular foramina, pass the large blood channels called the sigmoid sinuses and also the 9th (glossopharyngeal), 10th (vagus (vagus nerve)), and 11th (spinal accessory) cranial nerves (cranial nerve) as they leave the cranial cavity.

      The vessels, as well as the cranial nerves, are subject to injury at the openings into or from the cranial cavity and in special areas, such as close to the mastoid air cells. In the latter location, mastoiditis may lead to enough breakdown of bone to allow disease-bearing organisms to reach the other structures within the cranial cavity.

The hyoid: example of the anchoring function

      The primary function of the hyoid bone is to serve as an anchoring structure for the tongue. The bone is situated at the root of the tongue in the front of the neck and between the lower jaw and the largest cartilage of the larynx, or voice box. It has no articulation with other bones and thus has a purely anchoring function.

      The hyoid consists of a body, a pair of larger horns, called the greater cornua, and a pair of smaller horns, called the lesser cornua. The bone is more or less in the shape of a U, with the body forming the central part, or base, of the letter. In the act of swallowing, the hyoid bone, tongue, and larynx all move upward rapidly.

      The greater cornua are the limbs of the U. Their outer ends generally are overlapped by the large sternocleidomastoid muscles. The lesser cornua are small projections from the places called, somewhat arbitrarily, the junctions of the body and the greater cornua. The hyoid bone has certain muscles of the tongue attached to it. The hyoglossus muscles originate on each side from the whole length of the greater cornua and also from the body of the hyoid. They are inserted into the posterior half or more of the sides of the tongue. The hyoid bone anchors them when they contract to depress the tongue and widen the oral cavity. The two geniohyoid muscles originate close to the point at which the two halves of the lower jaw meet; the fibres of the muscles extend downward and backward, close to the central line, to be inserted into the body of the hyoid bone. Contraction of the muscles pulls the hyoid bone upward and forward.

      Inserting into the middle part of the lower border of the hyoid bone are the sternohyoids, long muscles arising from the breastbone and collarbone and running upward and toward each other in the neck.

      Other muscles attached to the hyoid bone are the two mylohyoid muscles, which form a sort of diaphragm for the floor of the mouth; the thyrohyoid, arising from the thyroid cartilage, the largest cartilage of the larynx; and the omohyoid, which originates from the upper margin of the shoulder blade and from a ligament, the suprascapular ligament.

      The position of the hyoid bone with relation to the muscles attached to it has been likened to that of a ship steadied as it rides when anchored “fore and aft.” Through the muscle attachments, the hyoid plays an important role in mastication (chewing), in swallowing, and in voice production.

      At the beginning of a swallowing motion, the geniohyoid and mylohyoid muscles elevate the bone and the floor of the mouth simultaneously. These muscles are assisted by the stylohyoid and digastric muscles. The tongue is pressed upward against the palate, and the food is forced backward.

The facial bones and their complex functions

The upper jaws (jaw)

 The larger part of the skeleton of the face is formed by the maxillae. Though they are called the upper jaws (jaw), the extent and functions of the maxillae include much more than serving as complements to the lower jaw, or mandible. They form the middle and lower portion of the eye socket. They have the opening for the nose between them, beneath the lower borders of the small nasal bones. A sharp projection, the anterior nasal spine, is formed by them at the centre of the lower margin of the opening for the nose, the nasal aperture.

      The infraorbital foramen, an opening into the floor of the eye socket, is the forward end of a canal through which passes the infraorbital branch of the maxillary nerve, the second division of the fifth cranial nerve. It lies slightly below the lower margin of the socket.

      The alveolar margin, containing the alveoli, or sockets, in which all the upper teeth are set, forms the lower part of each maxilla, while a lateral projection from each forms the zygomatic (zygomatic bone) process, forming a joint with the zygomatic, or malar, bone (cheekbone).

The lower jaw

 The left and right halves of the lower jaw, or mandible, begin originally as two distinct bones, but in the second year of life the two bones fuse at the midline to form one. The horizontal central part on each side is the body of the mandible. The upper portion of the body is the alveolar margin, corresponding to the alveolar margins of the maxillae. The projecting chin, at the lower part of the body in the midline, is said to be a distinctive characteristic of the human skull. On either side of the chin is the mental foramen, an opening for the mental branch of the mandibular nerve, the third division of the fifth cranial nerve.

      The ascending parts of the mandible at the side are called rami (branches). The joints by means of which the lower jaw is able to make all its varied movements are between a rounded knob, or condyle, at the upper back corner of each ramus and a depression, called a glenoid fossa, in each temporal bone. Another, rather sharp projection at the top of each ramus and in front, called a coronoid process, does not form part of a joint. Attached to it is the temporalis muscle, which serves with other muscles in shutting the jaws. On the inner side of the ramus of either side is a large, obliquely placed opening into a channel, the mandibular canal, for nerves, arteries, and veins.

 The zygomatic arch, forming the cheekbone, consists of portions of three bones: the maxilla, in front; the zygomatic bone, centrally in the arch; and a projection from the temporal bone to form the rear part. The zygomatic arch actually serves as a firm bony origin for the powerful masseter muscle, which descends from it to insert on the outer side of the mandible. The masseter muscle shares with the temporalis muscle and lateral and medial pterygoid muscles the function of elevating the mandible in order to bring the lower against the upper teeth, thus achieving bite.

The spine (vertebral column)

      The assumption of erect posture during the development of the human species has led to a need for adaptation and changes in the human skeletal system. The very form of the human vertebral column is due to such adaptations and changes.

The vertebral column

      The vertebral column is not actually a column but rather a sort of spiral spring in the form of the letter S. The newborn child has a relatively straight backbone. The development of the curvatures occurs as the supporting functions of the vertebral column in humans—i.e., holding up the trunk, keeping the head erect, serving as an anchor for the extremities—are developed.

      The S-curvature enables the vertebral column to absorb the shocks of walking on hard surfaces; a straight column would conduct the jarring shocks directly from the pelvic girdle to the head. The curvature meets the problem of the weight of the viscera. In an erect animal with a straight column, the column would be pulled forward by the viscera. Additional space for the viscera is provided by the concavities of the thoracic and pelvic regions.

      Weight distribution of the entire body is also effected by the S-curvature. The upper sector to a large extent carries the head; the central sector carries the thoracic viscera, the organs and structures in the chest; and the lower sector carries the abdominal viscera. If the column were straight, the weight load would increase from the head downward and be relatively great at the base. Lastly, the S-curvature protects the vertebral column from breakage. The doubly bent spring arrangement is far less vulnerable to fracture than would be a straight column.

      The protective function of the skeleton is perhaps most conspicuous in relation to the central nervous system, although it is equally important for the heart and lungs and some other organs. A high degree of protection for the nervous system (nervous system, human) is made possible by the relatively small amount of motion and expansion needed by the component parts of this system and by certain physiological adaptations relating to circulation, to the cerebrospinal fluid, and to the meninges, the coverings of the brain and spinal cord. The brain itself is snugly enclosed within the boxlike cranium. Sharing in the protection afforded by the cranium is the pituitary gland, or hypophysis.

The spinal cord

      For the spinal cord, with its tracts of nerve fibres traveling to and from the brain, the placement in relation to the spinal column is somewhat like that of a candle in a lantern. Normally, there is considerable space between the nervous and the bony tissue, space occupied by the meninges, by the cerebrospinal fluid, and by a certain amount of fat and connective tissue. In front are the heavy centrums, or bodies, of the vertebrae and the intervertebral disks—the tough, resilient pads between the vertebral bodies—while in back and on the sides the cord is enclosed and protected by the portion of each vertebra called the neural arch. Between the neural arches are sheets of elastic connective tissue, the interlaminar ligaments, or ligamenta flava. Here some protective function has to be sacrificed for the sake of motion, because a forward bending of part of the column leads to separation between the laminae and between the spines of the neural arches of adjoining vertebrae. It is through the ligamenta flava of the lower lumbar region (the small of the back) that the needle enters the subarachnoid space in the procedure of lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

      Besides its role in support and protection, the vertebral column is important in the anchoring of muscles. Many of the muscles attached to it are so arranged, in fact, as to move either the column itself or various segments of it. Some are relatively superficial, and others are deep-lying. The large and important erector spinae, as the name implies, holds the spine erect. It begins on the sacrum (the large triangular bone at the base of the spinal column) and passes upward, forming a mass of muscle on either side of the spines of the lumbar vertebrae. It then divides into three columns, ascending over the back of the chest. Although slips (narrow strips) of the muscle are inserted into the vertebrae and ribs, it does not terminate thus; fresh slips arise from these same bones and continue on up into the neck until one of the divisions, known as the longissimus capitis, finally reaches the skull.

      Small muscles run between the transverse processes (projections from the sides of the neural rings) of adjacent vertebrae, between the vertebral spines (projections from the centres of the rings), and from transverse process to spine, giving great mobility to the segmented bony column.

      The anchoring function of the spinal column is of great importance for the muscles that arise on the trunk, in whole or part from the column or from ligaments attached to it, and that are inserted on the bones of the arms and legs. Of these muscles, the most important for the arms are the latissimus dorsi (drawing the arm backward and downward and rotating it inward), the trapezius (trapezius muscle) (rotating the shoulder blade), the rhomboideus, and the levator scapulae (raising and lowering the shoulder blade); for the legs, the psoas (loin) muscles.

The rib cage

      The rib cage, or thoracic basket, consists of the 12 thoracic (chest) vertebrae, the 24 ribs, and the breastbone, or sternum. The ribs (rib) are curved, compressed bars of bone, with each succeeding rib, from the first, or uppermost, becoming more open in curvature. The place of greatest change in curvature of a rib, called its angle, is found several inches from the head of the rib, the end that forms a joint with the vertebrae.

      The first seven ribs (rib) are attached to the breastbone by cartilages called costal cartilages; these ribs are called true ribs. Of the remaining five ribs, which are called false, the first three have their costal cartilages connected to the cartilage above them. The last two, the floating ribs, have their cartilages ending in the muscle in the abdominal wall.

      Through the action of a number of muscles, the rib cage, which is semirigid but expansile, increases its size. The pressure of the air in the lungs (lung) thus is reduced below that of the outside air, which moves into the lungs quickly to restore equilibrium. These events constitute inspiration (breathing in). Expiration (breathing out) is a result of relaxation of the respiratory muscles and of the elastic recoil of the lungs and of the fibrous ligaments and tendons attached to the skeleton of the thorax. A major respiratory muscle is the diaphragm, which separates the chest and abdomen and has an extensive origin from the rib cage and the vertebral column. The configuration of the lower five ribs gives freedom for the expansion of the lower part of the rib cage and for the movements of the diaphragm.

The appendicular skeleton

Pectoral girdle and pelvic girdle

      The upper and lower extremities of humans offer many interesting points of comparison and of contrast. They and their individual components are homologous—i.e., of a common origin and patterned on the same basic plan. A long evolutionary history and profound changes in the function of these two pairs of extremities have led, however, to considerable differences between them.

      The girdles are those portions of the extremities that are in closest relation to the axis of the body and that serve to connect the free extremity (the arm or the leg) with that axis, either directly, by way of the skeleton, or indirectly, by muscular attachments. The connection of the pelvic girdle to the body axis, or vertebral column, is by means of the sacroiliac joint. On the contiguous surfaces of the ilium (the rear and upper part of the hip bone) and of the sacrum (the part of the vertebral column directly connected with the hip bone) are thin plates of cartilage. The bones are closely fitted together in this way, and there are irregular masses of softer fibrocartilage in places joining the articular cartilages; at the upper and posterior parts of the joint there are fibrous attachments between the bones. In the joint cavity there is a small amount of synovial fluid. Strong ligaments, known as anterior and posterior sacroiliac and interosseous ligaments, bind the pelvic girdle to the vertebral column. These fibrous attachments are the chief factors limiting motion of the joint, but the condition, or tone, of the muscles in this region is important in preventing or correcting the sacroiliac problems that are of common occurrence.

      The pelvic girdle consists originally of three bones, which become fused in early adulthood and each of which contributes a part of the acetabulum, the deep cavity into which the head of the thighbone, or femur, is fitted. The flaring upper part of the girdle is the ilium; the lower anterior part, meeting with its fellow at the midline, is the pubis; and the lower posterior part is the ischium. Each ischial bone has a prominence, or tuberosity, and it is upon these tuberosities that the body rests when seated.

 The components of the girdle of the upper extremity, the pectoral girdle, are the shoulder blade, or scapula, and the collarbone, or clavicle. The head of the humerus, the long bone of the upper arm, fits into the glenoid cavity, a depression in the scapula. The pectoral girdle is not connected with the vertebral column by ligamentous attachments, nor is there any joint between it and any part of the axis of the body. The connection is by means of muscles only, including the trapezius (trapezius muscle), rhomboids, and levator scapulae, while the serratus anterior connects the scapula to the rib cage. The range of motion of the pectoral girdle and in particular of the scapula is enormously greater than that of the pelvic girdle.

      Another contrast, in terms of function, is seen in the shallowness of the glenoid fossa, as contrasted with the depth of the acetabulum. It is true that the receptacle for the head of the humerus is deepened to some degree by a lip of fibrocartilage known as the glenoid labrum, which, like the corresponding structure for the acetabulum, aids in grasping the head of the long bone. The range of motion of the free upper extremity is, however, far greater than that of the lower extremity. With this greater facility of motion goes a greater risk of dislocation. For this reason, of all joints of the body, the shoulder is most often the site of dislocation.

Long bones of arms (arm) and legs (leg)

      The humerus and the femur are corresponding bones of the arms and legs, respectively. While their parts are similar in general, their structure has been adapted to differing functions. The head of the humerus is almost hemispherical, while that of the femur forms about two-thirds of a sphere. There is a strong ligament passing from the head of the femur to further strengthen and ensure its position in the acetabulum.

 The anatomical neck of the humerus is only a slight constriction, while the neck of the femur is a very distinct portion, running from the head to meet the shaft at an angle of about 125°. Actually, the femoral neck is developmentally and functionally a part of the shaft. The entire weight of the body is directed through the femoral heads along their necks and to the shaft. The structure of the bone within the head and neck and the upper part of the shaft of the femur would do credit to an engineer who had worked out the weight-bearing problems involved in the maintenance of upright posture.

 The forearm and the lower leg have two long bones each. In the forearm are the radius—on the thumb side of the forearm—and the ulna; in the lower leg are the tibia (the shinbone) and the fibula. The radius corresponds to the tibia and the ulna to the fibula. The knee joint not only is the largest joint in the body but also is perhaps the most complicated one. The bones involved in it, however, are only the femur and the tibia, although the smaller bone of the leg, the fibula, is carried along in the movements of flexion, extension, and slight rotation that this joint permits. The very thin fibula is at one time in fetal development far thicker relative to the tibia than it is in the adult skeleton.

      At the elbow, the ulna forms with the humerus a true hinge joint, in which the actions are flexion and extension. In this joint a large projection of the ulna, the olecranon, fits into the well-defined olecranon fossa, a depression of the humerus.

 The radius is shorter than the ulna. Its most distinctive feature is the thick disk-shaped head, which has a smoothly concave superior surface to articulate with the head, or capitulum, of the humerus. The head of the radius is held against the notch in the side of the ulna by means of a strong annular, or ring-shaped, ligament. Although thus attached to the ulna, the head of the radius is free to rotate. As the head rotates, the shaft and outer end of the radius are swung in an arc. In the position of the arm called supination, the radius and ulna are parallel, the palm of the hand faces forward, and the thumb is away from the body. In the position called pronation, the radius and ulna are crossed, the palm faces to the rear, and the thumb is next to the body. There are no actions of the leg comparable to the supination and pronation of the arm.

Hands and feet

 The skeleton of the wrist, or carpus, consists of eight small carpal bones (carpal bone), which are arranged in two rows of four each. The skeleton of the ankle, or tarsus, has seven bones, but, because of the angle of the foot to the leg and the weight-bearing function, they are arranged in a more complicated way. The bone of the heel, directed downward and backward, is the calcaneus, while the “keystone” of the tarsus is the talus, the superior surface of which articulates with the tibia.

 In the skeleton of the arms and legs, the outer portion is specialized and consists of elongated portions made up of chains, or linear series, of small bones. In an evolutionary sense, these outer portions appear to have had a complex history and, within the human mammalian ancestry, to have passed first through a stage when all four would have been “feet,” serving as the weight-bearing ends of extremities, as in quadrupeds in general. Second, all four appear to have become adapted for arboreal life, as in the lower primates, the “four-handed folk.” Third, and finally, the assumption of an upright posture has brought the distal portions of the hind, now lower, extremities back into the role of feet, while those of the front, now upper, extremities have developed remarkable manipulative powers and are called hands (hand). At what place in the primates a foot becomes a hand is difficult to say, and one might in fact be justified in speaking of hands in raccoons, squirrels, and some other nonprimates.

      In humans the metatarsal bones, those of the foot proper, are larger than the corresponding bones of the hands, the metacarpal bones. The tarsals (tarsal) and metatarsals (metatarsal) form the arches of the foot, which give it strength and enable it to act as a lever. The shape of each bone and its relations to its fellows are such as to adapt it for this function.

      The phalanges—the toe bones—of the foot have bases relatively large compared with the corresponding bones in the hand, while the shafts are much thinner. The middle and outer phalanges in the foot are short in comparison with those of the fingers. The phalanges of the big toe have special features.

      The hand is an instrument for fine and varied movements. In these, the thumb with its skeleton, the first metacarpal bone and the two phalanges, is extremely important. Its free movements include—besides flexion, extension, abduction (ability to draw away from the first finger), and adduction (ability to move forward of the fingers), which are exercised in varying degrees by the big toe also—a unique action, that of opposition, by which the thumb can be brought across, or opposed to, the palm and to the tips of the slightly flexed fingers. This motion forms the basis for the handling of tools, weapons, and instruments.

Warren Andrew

Additional Reading

Detailed description of the anatomy of the human skeleton is given in Cunningham's Textbook of Anatomy, 12th ed. by G.J. Romanes (1981); and in Peter L. Williams and Roger Warwick (eds.), Gray's Anatomy, 36th ed. (1980). Also useful are W.J. Hamilton (ed.), Textbook of Human Anatomy (1956), a concise and readable account of the anatomy of the skeleton of man; J.Z. Young, An Introduction to the Study of Man (1971); Kathy E. Goldberg, The Skeleton (1982), a popularly written anatomy; and J.E. Frazer, Anatomy of the Human Skeleton, 6th ed. (1965), a classic in the field of osteology.

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