Bone Structure

     If you like to study the human skeletal system, you will probably want to start with the support of the body. That would be the bones and bone structure. The best example I could start for beginners would be the femur. This bone is the longest and straightest single bone in the human body. It is also the strongest. If you break this bone, dont plan on walking again until it is completely healed or major problems could occur! the picture below is a human femur.

     Now, not all bones are solid in the human body. There are two specific types of bones when thinking of the structure. Cortical and Trabecular bones. Cortical bones are the hard and white bones you see that are the harder of the two. Trabecular bones are the honey comb looking holes inside the bone and are actually filled with marrow. Personally, I dont understand why the holes are considered "bone" but that is just me. It is important for bones to be strong to support our body weight and in some cases provide protection such as the skull and ribs. However, they must also be light enough to make movement possible. A long bone consists of several sections:

• Diaphysis: This is the long central shaft
• Epiphysis: Forms the larger rounded ends of long bones
• Metaphysis: Area between the diaphysis and epiphysis at both ends of the bone
• Epiphyseal Plates: Plates of cartilage, also known as growth plates which allow the long bones to grow in length during childhood. Once we stop growing, between 18 and 25 years of age the cartilage plates stop producing cartilage cells and are gradually replaced by bone.

     Just to make sure you all understand this bone structure a little better, I will add a youtube video just for a little extra grasp of the concept! I will warn you now it is 8:42 minutes long but it is very informative and also explains everything about the picture above as well. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnY6l9hMOew