Anatomy and Physiology of the Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Introduction

Today, human health is being threatened on multiple fronts and it is not surprising that there is growing interest in developing a better understanding about the human bodys various systems and the respective roles they play in maintaining good health. Some people may intuitively recognize the importance of the skeletal and muscular systems to human health, but far too few understand the fundamental anatomy and physiology of these systems. In response to this constraint, the purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion concerning the anatomy and physiology of the skeletal and muscular systems in the human body as well as selected associated disorders that are associated with those systems. Following this review, a summary of the findings is provided in the conclusion.

The Skeletal System

1. Anatomy

It is important to note that although the human skeletal system is widely regarded as a static structure that provides the human body with structural support only, the bones that make up the skeletal system also function as organs. In addition, the other organs that comprise the skeletal system include cartilage, tendons and ligaments (Cowen & Kahai, 2021). Comprised mainly of water and collagen, cartilage is a durable, smooth substance that serves to prevent individual bones in the skeletal system from rubbing against each other by coating the ends of bones (Anatomy of the joints, 2007). Similarly, tendons and ligaments are situated proximately to joints and also support individual bones in the skeletal system and facilitate the movement of joints (Anatomy of the joints, 2007). While tendons are comprised of fibrous cords that serve as connection points for bones and muscles (discussed further below), ligaments are strong tissues that connect bones to each other at joints (Anatomy of the joints, 2007).

2. Physiology

The skeletal system provides a number of physiologically essential features for the human body. These critical features include defining the bodys overall shape, maintaining homeostasis, facilitating breathing and locomotion, serving as a protective framework for internal vital organs, and generating the blood cells that are essential...

In addition, it is also noteworthy that despite their rigid and static appearances, bones continue to grow and experience biological and structural changes throughout the human lifecycle in response to what types of demands on the body that are involved (Cowen & Kahai, 2021).

The human skeletal system is divided into two main parts: 1) the axial skeleton and 2) the appendicular skeleton (Docherty, 2007). The axial skeleton segment provides the physical structure for the human bodys central axis while the appendicular skeleton segment is comprised of the bones in the lower and upper limbs as well as the pelvis and shoulders (Human skeletal systems, 2022). The 206 total bones that are contained in these two main parts of the skeletal system are not impervious to injury, however, as noted below.

3. Disorders

The cozy scene of injured skiers sitting in front of a fireplace sipping a hot beverage while nursing a broken leg in a plaster cast is stereotypical, but this picture does not accurately reflect the major impact that broken bones can have on the entire human anatomy. Bone fractures, though, exist along a continuum ranging from simple fractures that can be treated with supportive interventions such as reduction (e.g., lining the fractured bones up so they heal properly) as well as...

…disorder is essentially incurable at present, although there are some proven rehabilitative and palliative care steps that can help sufferers retain their quality of life for as long as possible (Riacho et al., 2021).

Integration

While it is possible to describe the skeletal and muscular systems discretely, it is far more difficult to discuss the manner in which the musculoskeletal system operates separately from each other. Both of these systems depend on each other to achieve locomotion and other movements, with the skeletal system providing the muscular system with the mechanical structure that is needed to secure muscles and move them through contraction. In many ways, the inextricable interrelationship between the muscular and skeletal systems is analogous the mechanical functioning of the recently deployed James Webb Space Telescope which features several motors and stainless-steel cables to manipulate its mirror array. In sum, the skeletal and muscular systems combine to provide humans with the abilities they need to survive in a hostile environment through fight or flight as well as simply standing (and staying) upright to survey their surroundings.

Conclusion

The research showed that the human bodys skeletal and muscular systems are highly complex, mutually dependent systems. Indeed, the muscular and skeletal systems would be essentially worthless without each other since the former provides the physical power that is needed for movement as well as keeping the heart beating, and the latter providing the structural architecture that is needed by the muscular system to operate and which protects it and other internal organs. Although the integumentary and nervous systems are likewise essential components of the human body, the musculoskeletal system provides the framework that is needed for all of these systems to function in tandem…