Try to imagine what you would look like without them. You would be a soft, wobbly pile of skin, muscles, and internal organs, so you might look something like a very large slug. Not that you would be able to see yourself—folds of skin would droop down over your eyes and block your vision because of your lack of skull bones. You could push the skin out of the way, if you could only move your arms, but you need bones for that as well!
The human skeleton is an internal framework that, in adults, consists of 206 bones, most of which are shown in Figure below.
In addition to bones, the skeleton also consists of cartilage and ligaments:
The human skeleton consists of bones, cartilage, and ligaments.
The skeleton supports the body and gives it shape. It has several other functions as well, including:
Maintaining mineral homeostasis is a very important function of the skeleton, because just the right levels of calcium and other minerals are needed in the blood for normal functioning of the body. When mineral levels in the blood are too high, bones absorb some of the minerals and store them as mineral salts, which is why bones are so hard. When blood levels of minerals are too low, bones release some of the minerals back into the blood, thus restoring homeostasis.
Jerboas are adorable creatures that are capable of jumping up to three feet. In this video by Science Friday, Dr. Kim Cooper reveals how the extremely springy leg bones of jerboas make this possible, and the implications it might have for human bone growth.
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