Unit 6 Reflection

During this unit we learn about the bones and the processes they undergo to maintain structural integrity as well as the anatomical features of the bone. Bones are made of many parts, namely, osteons (the portion of the bones that house the osteo, -cytes, -blasts, and -clasts. Osteons also contain the blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels of the bones. This conglomeration of various vessels, canals, and cells is called the Haversian system), spongy bone, compact bone, nutrient arteries and the periosteum. There is a lot of detail that could go into the function and classification of the bones, however these are some of the more notable anatomical features. The spongy bone for instance, comes in two forms, red and yellow. Yellow contains fat and red contains blood cells. Compact bone is composed of osteons and collagen as well as several different minerals. The minerals is what gives bone its hardness and the collagen is what gives them an elastic element.

The way they keep this integrity is through constant degradation and regeneration of bones through specialized cells.These cells are known as the osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts are the cells that regenerate the bone cells that were destroyed by the osteoclasts. These cells not only maintain bone strength but also help in repairing breaks in the bones. They do this through connecting the separate pieces and then evening out the curves. Not only did we learn about the bones but the joints of bones and how they work. Labs that we did include the Owl Pellet Dissection Lab (previously blogged about) in which we dissected an Owl pellet and identified key structures.

Through the lab we were challenged on our knowledge of common structures as well as general locations of these structures. As we attempted to create a basic skeletal formation of the bones of the pellets, we were also being tested on our ability to acknowledge common joints.

These joints could come in many forms, for instance, the bones of the ribs and the sternum are connected by cartilaginous synarthroses joints. These joints are virtually immovable and are joined by cartilage. We also learned the effects of the knee cap which was really cool. Ultimately I have no further questions. I would just like to say I loved doing these labs.