Skip to content
Life & Health Sciences
Biology
The Musculoskeletal System

The Musculoskeletal System

Photo shows a man with prosthetic legs stretching out while playing baseball.
Improvements in the design of prostheses have allowed for a wider range of activities in recipients. (credit: modification of work by Stuart Grout)

The muscular and skeletal systems provide support to the body and allow for a wide range of movement. The bones of the skeletal system protect the body’s internal organs and support the weight of the body. The muscles of the muscular system contract and pull on the bones, allowing for movements as diverse as standing, walking, running, and grasping items.

Injury or disease affecting the musculoskeletal system can be very debilitating. In humans, the most common musculoskeletal diseases worldwide are caused by malnutrition. Ailments that affect the joints are also widespread, such as arthritis, which can make movement difficult and—in advanced cases—completely impair mobility. In severe cases in which the joint has suffered extensive damage, joint replacement surgery may be needed.

Progress in the science of prosthesis design has resulted in the development of artificial joints, with joint replacement surgery in the hips and knees being the most common. Replacement joints for shoulders, elbows, and fingers are also available. Even with this progress, there is still room for improvement in the design of prostheses. The state-of-the-art prostheses have limited durability and therefore wear out quickly, particularly in young or active individuals. Current research is focused on the use of new materials, such as carbon fiber, that may make prostheses more durable.

Sections

  • Types of Skeletal Systems — the different types of skeletal systems, the role of the human skeletal system, and how different skeletal systems compare and contrast.
  • Bone — the different types of bones in the skeleton, the role of the different cell types in bone, and how bone forms during development.
  • Joints and Skeletal Movement — the different types of joints classified on the basis of structure and the role of joints in skeletal movement.
  • Muscle Contraction and Locomotion — the different types of muscle tissue and the role of muscles in locomotion.

This chapter is adapted from Biology 2e, Chapter 38: The Musculoskeletal System by Mary Ann Clark, Jung Choi, Matthew Douglas, and OpenStax, © OpenStax, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Access the original for free at openstax.org. Each section page records its own changes from the source. Changes: the chapter-opening image is the source’s, re-encoded for the web, with its source alt kept since it already says what the photo shows.

Endocrine GlandsTypes of Skeletal Systems