Skeletal system
Animal science
● this system is made up of hard tissues like bones and cartilage. It gives form and shape
to animal body. The skeleton of a living animal is made up living structures of bones. The
bones have blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and nerves. They are subject to disease,
repair themselves and to adjust to changes during stress.
Bones- a highly specialized supportive tissues which is characterized by its
rigidity and hardness
Main function
• Mechanical support (body framework)/ rigidity and form to the body:
animals without a skeleton of some type have little or no regular form.
• Permit locomotion and movement/ act as lever: in the vertebrates,
locomotion, defense, offense, grasping, and other activities of this type depend
largely upon the action of muscles that are attach to the levers.
• Protection of vital organs: protection of some vital organs from the external
damages is one of the important functions of bones.
• Metabolic reservoirs of minerals calcium, and phosphorous: the entire
skeleton serves as a dynamic storage area for minerals, particularly calcium
and phosphorous.
• Hemopoiesis/sites for blood formation: blood formation is not strictly a
function of bone proper, but of the marrow found within the marrow cavity of
long bones and within the spongy substances of all young bones.
Classification of bones:
• Long bones: are relatively cylindrical in shape with two extremities called
epiphysis. There is metaphysis between each epiphysis and the diaphysis. A
long bone grows in length only at the epiphyseal cartilage which is located
within the metaphysis.
function of long bones: chiefly as levers and aid in support, locomotion
and prehension.
• Examples:
• Short bones: are somewhat cuboid in shape i.e. approximately equal in
all dimensions. There is no marrow cavity. They are found in complex
joints such as the carpus (knee) and tarsus (hock).
Example of short bones: patella
functions: for variety of movement, absorption of shock
• Flat bones: are relatively thin and expanded in two dimensions. They
consist of two plats of compact substance, lamina externa and lamina
interna, separated by diploe.
Example of flat bone : frontal base of skull, scapula and pelvic bone.
Functions: protects vital organs such as brain, the heart
and lungs. – many provide large areas for muscle
attachment.
• Sesamoid bones: they are developed along the course of tendons.
Example: patella (knee cap)
Functions: reduces friction or change the course of tendons, may change
the angle of the pull of muscles and this give a greater mechanical
advantage.
• Pneumatic bones: they contains air spaces or sinuses that communicate
with the exterior.
Example: long bones of birds, frontal bones and maxillary bones of the skull
• Irregular bones: are unpaired bones located on the median plane and
include the vertebrate and some of the unpaired bones of the skull
• Function: protection, support and muscle attachment.
Two parts of skeleton system: the axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton
Axial skeleton: is made up of skull, and vertebral column sternum and ribs
Skull Vertebrate
Cranial bones Cervical
•occipital Thoracic
•parietal Lumbar
•Interparietal Sacral
•Temporal Caudal
•Frontal
•Ethmoid Ribs
•Sphenoid
cartilages
•Pterygoid
•Lacrimal False ribs- not directly connected
with sternum
•Nasal
•Palatine Floating ribs – last 1 or 2 pair
connected only with vertebrates
•Conchae (turbinate's)
•Maxilla
•Incisive (premaxilla) Sternum
•Zygomatic (malar) Manubrium
Vomer Body
Mandible Xiphoid process
Hyoid
• Skull: forms the basis of the head. It consist of cranial bones, which surround
the brain and facial bones, which exhibits observable variation among the
species.
• Function- protect of brain
- supports many sense organs
- forms passage for the beginning of digestive and respiratory system
• Appendicular skeleton: the pectoral (front) and pelvic (hind) limbs and the
shoulder and pelvic girdles that attach (or append) them to the body
• Vertebral column: composed of median, unpaired and irregular bones. The
following indicates the parts of vertebral column and letters are used to
designate the respective regions.
● cervical vertebrae (C) – neck region
● thoracic or dorsal (T)- chest region
● lumbar (L) – lion region
● sacral (S) – in region of pelvis- fused vertebrae
● fused lumbar and sacral (LS)- in fowl
● caudal or coccygeal (Cd) – located in tail
Vertebral formula: for a given species consist of the letter symbol for each
region followed by the number of vertebrae in that region in the given species.
The following shows the vertebral formula of common farm animals.
Cow: C7 T13 L6 S5 cd18-20
Sheep: C7 T13 L6-7 S4 cd16-18
Pig: C7 T14-15 L6-7 S4 cd20-23
Horse: C7 T18 L6 S5 cd15-20
Chicken: C14 T7 LS14 cd6
Sternum and ribs: forms the floor of the bony thoracic wall and gives
attachment to the costal cartilages of the sternal (true) ribs as well as forming a
place of origin for the pectoral muscles. The sternum consists of segments
called sternebrae which tend to fuse together to fuse together as age advances.
The number of sternebrae varies with species as follows:
Pig:6; sheep:6; cow:7; goat:7; horse:8
Sometimes the last one or two pair of ribs have no connection with other ribs at
the ventral end. Such ribs are called floating ribs. The spaces between the ribs
are called intercostal spaces.
Pelvic limb
Pectoral limb
Pelvic girdle (os coxae)-
Pectoral girdle ( shoulder girdle)
Pelvis
Scapula
Ilium
Clavicle
Ishium
Coracoid
Pubis
Humerus- arm
Femur – thigh
Patella
Radius - forearm
Tibia- leg
Ulna- forearm
Fibula-
Carpus-
Tarsus- hock
Metacarpus- cannon
Metatarsus- cannon
Phalanges- digits
Phalanges- digits
Pectoral limbs:
• scapula (shoulder blade)- in all animals, it is rather flat, triangular bone.
• Humerus (arm bone)- is a typical long bone that varies only in minor details
from one animal to another.
• Radius- is the larger of the two forearm bones, and the ulna is the smaller
mammal but not in birds. The radius is well developed in all species.
• Ulna- varies in its degree of development from species to species. In horse
the proximal portion of the shaft of the ulna is well developed but fused to
the radius. The cow, sheep, goat and pig each have a complete ulna, but
with restricted or no movement between the ulna and radius. The cat and
dog have considerably more movement between these complete bones, but
not nearly as much as man.
• Carpus- in all animals is a complete region that includes two rows of small
bones. Those in the proximal row are called radial, intermediate and ulnar.
Those in distal row are numbered as 1,2,3, and 4.
Anatomy of chicken
The domesticated chicken is descendent of red jungle fowl. All systems are
present but there is modification of each system to meet the requirements of
species. Modifications are described below:
General modification
Cattle Chicken
1. Mouth Beak
2. Forelimb Wings
3. Long bones with Pneumatic without
Marrow, without marrow,
Marrow, pneumatic pneumatic
4. Lungs and kidneys Attached to dorsal
Not attached wall presence of
comb and wattle
in head
Skeletal system- is made up of
bones that are pneumatic in nature making the
body light for flight
