What are bones made of

The basis of human movement is the skeleton. The human skeleton structure is composed of 206 bones. Each bone has its own function. Therefore, once the bones are damaged in daily life, the movement of the human body will be greatly restricted. Today, the editor will introduce the composition of the human skeleton to you. So, what are bones made of?

First, what are bones composed of? Hard tissue inside or on the body of humans or animals. There are two types. The skeleton of humans and higher animals is inside the body and is composed of many bones, which is called endoskeleton; the hard shell outside the body of arthropods and mollusks and the scales and shells on the surface of some vertebrates (such as fish and turtles) are called exoskeleton. The skeleton usually refers to the endoskeleton.

Second, bones are hard organs that make up the skeleton of vertebrates. Their functions are to move, support and protect the body; produce red blood cells and white blood cells; and store minerals. Bones are made up of a variety of shapes and have a complex internal and external structure that allows bones to remain strong while reducing weight. One of the components of bones is mineralized bone tissue, which has a hard honeycomb-shaped three-dimensional structure inside; other tissues include bone marrow, periosteum, nerves, blood vessels and cartilage. The human skeleton plays a supporting role in the body and is part of the human musculoskeletal system. Adults have 206 bones. Bones are generally connected by joints and ligaments.

What is the composition of bones? From the perspective of chemical composition, we can distinguish between bones whose main component is inorganic minerals and bones whose main component is organic matter. The skeletons of most invertebrates are mainly composed of calcium carbonate (calcite, aragonite), and chitinous exoskeletons are found in higher invertebrates such as arthropods. Chitin is a polysaccharide (aminopolysaccharide) organic substance. The exoskeleton of arthropods (crustaceans, insects, etc.) is mainly composed of chitin and mineralized (calcified phosphate) collagen fibers (a protein). The supporting basis of land plants is lignin, a polymeric aromatic compound. From the order of evolution, bones mainly composed of inorganic components such as calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate and silicon appeared earlier, followed by chitin bones, and then calcified collagen fiber bones. The lignification of plants occurs relatively late.