Skeletal System Lab Report

Hannah Hux
Introduction
This lab report will focus on the skeletal systems bone matrix, pressure and
force, and homeostasis imbalance. The skeletal system contains the 206 bones that are
in the human body. The outer layer of a bone is called the periosteum. The periosteum
is made up of white fibrous connective tissue and is very hard and thick. The inside of a
bone is then made up of endosteum, which is a bone marrow cavity. All bones contain
periosteum and endosteum, whether they are a spongy bone or a compact bone. A
spongy bone contains trabeculae and a matrix that is spongy, soft, and has many open
spaces inside it. A compact bone contains osteons and has a matrix that lacks open
spaces, is very solid, and thick. A compact bone is also filled with yellow bone marrow.
To see the histology of mammalian bone, see figure 1. Bone tissue is a connective
tissue composed of inorganic salts and collagen. Inorganic salts are what cause bones
to be hard and strong. Collagen allows bones to have some flexibility to them. In table 1,
you can see the results of an experiment that took the inorganic salts and collagen out
of the bone.
An experiment was conducted testing the force and pressure applied by the
bones located in the human foot. The force and pressure that was applied by a test
subject was recorded and then compared. The results of the pressure from the
experiment can be seen in table 2. The average of the force exerted by the test subject
can be seen in figure 2. When using different shoe types, the pressure applied varied
due to the surface area of each pair of shoes being different. This was the same with
the force as well. In figure 3, you can see how the first step onto the force plate by each
foot was where the most force was applied. Gravity is pressure that is always acting on
the human body and the skeletal system. Pressure is when a force is exerted upon
another object by coming in contact with it, while force is when a push or pull occurs on
an object due to the contact between the two objects.
There are many diseases that can affect the skeletal system. A very common
bone disease is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is when bones have a decrease in their
mass and become more brittle. Normal bone matrix has very few holes in it, bone matrix
that has been affected by osteoporosis contains almost nothing but holes. Osteoporosis
causes bones to become very weak, causing them to fracture easily. Homeostasis
regulates the body and keeps the body working properly by regulating it. Homeostasis
imbalance is the disruptions of this regulation. The disruption of the bone remodeling
cycle is what causes osteoporosis. The osteoclasts that remove the bone continue to
work, while the osteoblasts that rebuild the bone fail to regulate themselves and build up
the bone. This is why osteoporosis occurs and causes the increase in the hollowness of
the bone. The most common place to discover osteoporosis due to a fracture is the hip.

The hip has many points that are easily susceptible to fractures once osteoporosis has
taken over the bone. There is not a cure for osteoporosis, but there are several forms of
prevention. See figure 4 for prevention tips. There are many different functions in the
skeletal system, it is important to understand them so that you understand your body
and how it functions, especially since the skeletal system is a majority of the human
body.

Figure 1. Bone histology. A microscopic view of a mammalian bone. Photo by: Yogesh
Shah
Table 1.
Bone Type

Salt

Collagen

Baked bone

Present

Removed

Bone soaked in vinegar

Removed

Present

Uncooked bone

Present

Present

Table 2. Pressure measured from the force variance lab. Both feet in the experiment
exerted different amounts of pressure based on the task performed and the shoes worn
by the subject.
Shoe Type

Walking
Forwards
(Right)

Walking
Forwards
(Left)

Walking
Backwards
(Right)

Walking
Backwards
(Left)

High Heel

2.30 Pa

2.20 Pa

2.60 Pa

2.42 Pa

Converse

0.70 Pa

0.79 Pa

0.97 Pa

0.89 Pa

Barefoot

1.26 Pa

1.38 Pa

0.91 Pa

0.79 Pa

Figure 2. Average force applied to the force plate.The force applied in the experiment by
each walking forwards and backwards in the various shoes was used to find the
average of each foot in the three different shoes and placed in this table to show the
average force applied by each shoe. Graph by: Author

Figure 3. Walking backwards in converse graph. The graph the force plate showed
when the test subject walked backwards onto the force plate in converse. Photo by:
Author

Figure 4. Osteoporosis infographic. The study of three people who were experiencing
symptoms and looking to prevent the development of Osteoporosis. Photo by: Author
Discussion:
1. In the future, I would address the question of how does the weight affect the
pressure applied?
2. In the future, I would address the question of how many trials would it take to
have the most accurate average for pressure and force?
3. In the future, I would address the question of how does the heel and toe relate to
each other based on the force applied?
Sources cited
1. Clarke, B. (2008). Normal Bone Anatomy and Physiology. Retrieved November
03, 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3152283/
2. I. (n.d.). Osteoporosis: Sorting Fact From Fiction, Focusing on Prevention.
Retrieved November 30, 2016, from
http://www.ihcbesthealth.com/articles/osteoporosis-fact-fiction-prevention/
3. Shier, D., Butler, J., & Lewis, R. (2010). Hole's human anatomy & physiology.
Dubuque: McGraw-Hill.
4. Bone connective tissue. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2016, from
https://www.sciencetopia.net/biology/bone-connective-tissue