Unit 7 Review

In this unit we covered the skeletal system. At first glance, the skeletal system seems to just be dead bones, but it also includes the various structures that support the bones. The Bones are constantly being remodeled by the osteoclasts and osteoblasts. The osteoblasts build up the bone and the osteoclasts destroy the old bone tissue.
The skeletal system can have problems in the curvature of the spine. When this curve is lateral it is called scoliosis. Kyphosis is when the cervical vertebrae are too humped over. Lordosis it too much lumbar arch. Vitamin D is closely linked to calcium and building strong bones. Rickets is when the bones are too weak due to a vitamin D deficiency leading to too little calcium. Osteoporosis is when the when the bones become too porous. This can come with age and a dysfunction of the osteoblasts and osteoclasts in bone remodeling.

Long bone anatomy 

Joints are classified by the materials making up the joint and the movement of the joint. A fibrous joint is made of sutures or ligaments. The cartilaginous joint is made of cartilage. The synovial joints are always diarthrosis. They have a bursar that cushions the joint. These are the joints that we think of as joints, like the elbow, knee or shoulder. Classification by the movement is the synarthritic joints, without movement, the amphiarthrotic joints, with some movement, and diarthrotic, with free range.

Joint anatomy 

When a bone is fractured it first forms a blood clot. it then must rebuild the damaged tissue. It does this by sending osteoblasts to rebuild the bone. They begin to lay down new bone and soon a callus forms. Eventually, the fracture site is bridged. With bone remodeling, the scar is remade and becomes less prominent.  

I have kept up with the notes this unit. In 20 time I learned that I can be proud of something even if I did not enjoy the process. There still can be elements of pride involved.

Starting Over

On this topic, I have learned that there are beautiful parts of nature all around us. I've seen how children enjoy whatever is around them, but often the adults

Something else I learned about in the perspective of people is that they are very trusting. While on Facebook under the name Sara Toga, I started friend requesting anyone in our community or who they know, which led me to various other places. I was accepted by many people.This part really surprised me; they had no idea who I was and yet I was their Facebook friend now. It took 3 days for someone to ask who I was, but even that was after they accepted the request. I find this accidental discovery something interesting and maybe I could take this further to see what people would do online versus in real life. We hear about this with bullying all the time about how we shouldn't "hide behind the screen" but we do this for bullying and for friending strangers across the world.

I constantly got messages from FB telling me to only friend people I know. Eventually, I was stopped from friending at all. 

Since the last post, my facebook account grew to nearly 600 friends spreading from Saratoga all the way to Morocco. I did not get a chance to write anything on the posts as Facebook shut down my page. My next step will be to make the same page as a Facebook group.
I can apply what I learned by being careful online. I now realise how far and fake the wed can be. 

Owl Pellet Lab

In this lab we took apart an owl pellet to identify by the bones what animals the owl ate. Owls swallow their prey whole then regurgitate a pellet of indigestible materials: hair and bones. The owl pellet contained a vole skeleton. Our owl pellet contained 3 skulls, all from a vole. We can tell this by the shape of the skull. Also the humerus has a  distinct shape for a vole; it has a point on one of the edges that distinguishes it form other rodents.
The femur in the pellet resembled a human bone. The epiphysis had two distinct knobs on each end and a long diaphysis between. The radius and ulna were connected too. In humans, they lie next to one another with a small gap between. The scapula also is similar between the 2 species. It is flat and triangular.
The skulls of humans and the vole are very different. The vole has a longer head with eyes on the side and long arching teeth in the front. The tibia and fibula also look different. Although the fibula is smaller in both, in the vole it arcs and does not travel the full length. The humerus also appears different. In the vole it has a large point on the diaphysis; in humans this is very subtle and called the deltoid tuberosity.

The skull. It is a vole due to the shape and size. 

The mandible 

The humerus. This was also very helpful in identifying the vole because of the distinct bump on it.