Human skeleton

The body's framework of bones and cartilage supports tissues, protects organs, stores minerals, and works with muscles to enable movement.

Bone: A rigid connective tissue whose mineralized matrix supports the body and protects organs. Bone forms most of the skeleton and continually remodels in response to bodily demands.
Bone remodeling: The ongoing replacement of old bone tissue with new tissue by specialized cells. Remodeling repairs microscopic damage and adapts bone to changing loads.
Locomotion: The movement of an organism from place to place. Bones provide levers and joints provide axes for muscle-driven locomotion.
Exoskeleton: A rigid external covering that supports and protects an animal's body. Unlike the human skeleton, an exoskeleton surrounds the body and must be shed for growth.
Human skeletal development: The prenatal and postnatal processes through which the human skeleton forms, grows, and matures. Development explains how cartilage models and bone growth produce the adult framework.
Cartilage: A resilient connective tissue that cushions joints, shapes structures, and supports developing bones. Cartilage supplies flexible support where rigid bone would limit movement or growth.
Ossification: The process by which bone tissue forms, either directly or by replacing cartilage. Ossification builds the skeleton during development and contributes to later repair.
Hematopoiesis: The production of blood cells, chiefly in red bone marrow. The skeleton houses marrow that continually supplies blood cells.
Hydrostatic skeleton: A support system in which fluid pressure within a body cavity resists muscle contraction. It provides support without the mineralized internal framework found in humans.
Epiphyseal plate: A zone of cartilage near the ends of growing long bones where lengthwise growth occurs. Its eventual closure ends the increase in long-bone length.

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