Bones Are A True Miracle And They Do A Lot For The Body
November 30, 2020 at 9:19 p.m.
By Max [email protected]
Just think how insecure we would be if we had to take on their responsibilities. I mentioned that we should include all of them when we give thanks during the holiday. Because of the time, it would take I am not recommending a lengthy discourse.
Charles Darwin might say that we owe our very existence to a design inherited through years of natural selection. My initial column could have added other organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and glands and every system we so desperately rely on. The list even includes the bones that make up our skeletal system. They are indeed a miracle of chemistry and structure.
Bones Overall
A new book by Dr. Roy Means entitled “Bone: Inside and Out” provides the details. As he describes, not only is bone manufactured on-site, it is also lightweight, durable and responsive to changing conditions. A bridge made of steel cannot double its length or its carrying capacity, but bone both grows and responds to stresses.
Furthermore, bone mends itself. A shattered brick or a broken spoon, be it made of metal, plastic, or wood, cannot do that. Not only is bone the world’s best structural support, it is also the world’s largest import-export bank, a repository of vital elements – especially calcium – on which our lives depend. Bones are more than just the scaffolding that holds the body together. Bones come in all shapes and sizes and have many roles and are living, active tissues that are constantly being remodeled.
Functions
Bones have many functions. They support the body structurally, protect our vital organs, and allow us to move. Also, they provide an environment for bone marrow, where the blood cells are created, and they act as a storage area for minerals.
Your skull protects your brain, and your ribs and breastbone protect other assorted innards, but the really great bones – the ones whose well-being orthopedists oversee – are the service providers: spine, pelvis, limbs. Each bone’s unique shape allows it to provide service and, in some instances, protection as well.
Number And Size
At birth, we have around 270 soft bones. As we grow, some of these fuse together. Initially, the platelike skull bones can move against one another and shift the head’s shape to facilitate delivery. Then it is a normal occurrence for the skull bones to fuse together in order to protect the brain. In infancy, many bones in the wrists and ankles do not yet contain enough calcium to block X-ray beams and thus don’t make shadows during imaging.
Once we reach adulthood, we have 206 bones. The largest bone in the human body is the thighbone or femur, and the smallest is the stapes in the middle ear, which are just 3 millimeters (mm) long. Bones are mostly made of the protein collagen, which forms a soft framework. The mineral calcium phosphate hardens this framework, giving it strength. More than 99% of our body’s calcium is held in our bones and teeth. Bone constitutes about 15% of our body mass and that bone is about one-third collagen and two-thirds calcium-phosphorus crystals.
Accordingly, a 160-pound person possesses 24 pounds of bone (8 pounds of collagen and 16 pounds of hydroxyapatite).
The human spine averages 28 inches in length in the male and 24 inches in the female, with surprising little variation from individual to individual. It is the length, or lack thereof, in the bones of the leg that is responsible for most of the variation in height.
Structure And Composition
Bones have an internal structure similar to a honeycomb, which makes them rigid yet relatively light. Bones are composed of two types of tissue:
1. Compact (cortical) bone: A hard outer layer that is dense, strong and durable. It makes up around 80% of adult bone mass.
2. Cancellous (trabecular or spongy) bone: This consists of a network of trabeculae or rod-like structures. It is lighter, less dense and more flexible than compact bone.
Also found in bones:
• osteoblasts and osteocytes, responsible for creating bone
• osteoclasts or bone resorbing cells
• osteoid, a mix of collagen and other proteins
• inorganic mineral salts within the matrix
• nerves and blood vessels
• bone marrow
• cartilage
• membranes, including the endosteum and periosteum
Final Thoughts
According to Dr. Means, “Some biologists must have finished their Thanksgiving dinner and asked themselves, “We all know how a turkey’s wishbone serves us, but what purpose does it serve a turkey?” From a structural perspective, even if you are an expert turkey carver, it has probably escaped you that the wishbone is both collar bones fused together.”
Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry. His new book “Science Snippets” is available from Amazon and other book sellers. It contains a number of previously published columns. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
Just think how insecure we would be if we had to take on their responsibilities. I mentioned that we should include all of them when we give thanks during the holiday. Because of the time, it would take I am not recommending a lengthy discourse.
Charles Darwin might say that we owe our very existence to a design inherited through years of natural selection. My initial column could have added other organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and glands and every system we so desperately rely on. The list even includes the bones that make up our skeletal system. They are indeed a miracle of chemistry and structure.
Bones Overall
A new book by Dr. Roy Means entitled “Bone: Inside and Out” provides the details. As he describes, not only is bone manufactured on-site, it is also lightweight, durable and responsive to changing conditions. A bridge made of steel cannot double its length or its carrying capacity, but bone both grows and responds to stresses.
Furthermore, bone mends itself. A shattered brick or a broken spoon, be it made of metal, plastic, or wood, cannot do that. Not only is bone the world’s best structural support, it is also the world’s largest import-export bank, a repository of vital elements – especially calcium – on which our lives depend. Bones are more than just the scaffolding that holds the body together. Bones come in all shapes and sizes and have many roles and are living, active tissues that are constantly being remodeled.
Functions
Bones have many functions. They support the body structurally, protect our vital organs, and allow us to move. Also, they provide an environment for bone marrow, where the blood cells are created, and they act as a storage area for minerals.
Your skull protects your brain, and your ribs and breastbone protect other assorted innards, but the really great bones – the ones whose well-being orthopedists oversee – are the service providers: spine, pelvis, limbs. Each bone’s unique shape allows it to provide service and, in some instances, protection as well.
Number And Size
At birth, we have around 270 soft bones. As we grow, some of these fuse together. Initially, the platelike skull bones can move against one another and shift the head’s shape to facilitate delivery. Then it is a normal occurrence for the skull bones to fuse together in order to protect the brain. In infancy, many bones in the wrists and ankles do not yet contain enough calcium to block X-ray beams and thus don’t make shadows during imaging.
Once we reach adulthood, we have 206 bones. The largest bone in the human body is the thighbone or femur, and the smallest is the stapes in the middle ear, which are just 3 millimeters (mm) long. Bones are mostly made of the protein collagen, which forms a soft framework. The mineral calcium phosphate hardens this framework, giving it strength. More than 99% of our body’s calcium is held in our bones and teeth. Bone constitutes about 15% of our body mass and that bone is about one-third collagen and two-thirds calcium-phosphorus crystals.
Accordingly, a 160-pound person possesses 24 pounds of bone (8 pounds of collagen and 16 pounds of hydroxyapatite).
The human spine averages 28 inches in length in the male and 24 inches in the female, with surprising little variation from individual to individual. It is the length, or lack thereof, in the bones of the leg that is responsible for most of the variation in height.
Structure And Composition
Bones have an internal structure similar to a honeycomb, which makes them rigid yet relatively light. Bones are composed of two types of tissue:
1. Compact (cortical) bone: A hard outer layer that is dense, strong and durable. It makes up around 80% of adult bone mass.
2. Cancellous (trabecular or spongy) bone: This consists of a network of trabeculae or rod-like structures. It is lighter, less dense and more flexible than compact bone.
Also found in bones:
• osteoblasts and osteocytes, responsible for creating bone
• osteoclasts or bone resorbing cells
• osteoid, a mix of collagen and other proteins
• inorganic mineral salts within the matrix
• nerves and blood vessels
• bone marrow
• cartilage
• membranes, including the endosteum and periosteum
Final Thoughts
According to Dr. Means, “Some biologists must have finished their Thanksgiving dinner and asked themselves, “We all know how a turkey’s wishbone serves us, but what purpose does it serve a turkey?” From a structural perspective, even if you are an expert turkey carver, it has probably escaped you that the wishbone is both collar bones fused together.”
Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry. His new book “Science Snippets” is available from Amazon and other book sellers. It contains a number of previously published columns. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
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