Skeletons: Facts
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Skeleton
When some people think of skeletons, they think of Halloween or some mad scientist's display in a laboratory. But we all have a skeleton. It is what gives our bodies shape and form. Without a skeleton, we would be a heap of skin and muscles.
The skeleton is made of a series of bones. The key feature of all animals with bones is that they have a set of bones known as the vertebrates which travel along the spine. In fact, animals with bones are called vertebrates and animals without these bones are called invertebrates.
So what are bones? Bones are largely made of calcium and other minerals. They are hard enough to support our weight and daily stress. Bones protect our major organs and give our bodies shape. Bones are actually living tissue. The center of the bone, or marrow, is where your blood is created.
The bones in children actually grow and change. The human body has 206 bones which make up the skeleton. Six of those are tiny bones found in the inner ear, three in each ear.
How We Move Our Bones
muscle
Our bones are not able to move on their own. They require something to pull them in order to be useful. Attached to many of the bones are fibrous tissues known as tendons. They are slightly elastic and have a white or gray color.
Tendons connect bones to muscles. Muscles contract and relax as needed to help our bones — and the arms, legs, head, feet, etc. they support — move.
Tendons do not have any blood vessels and so take a long time to heal if damaged.