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Support and Movement

Mammals have a skeletal system with two main parts - the axial skeleton for support and limbs for movement. The limbs connect to the axial skeleton via girdles. The skeletal system is usually horizontal in mammals and is made mostly of bone, which contains living cells and gets oxygen from blood vessels. Movement in the forearm is enabled by the biceps muscle contracting to flex or bend the elbow, while the triceps muscle contracts to extend the elbow. The biceps and triceps work antagonistically, with one contracting as the other relaxes. Tendons made of collagen connect muscles to bones.

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55 views

Support and Movement

Mammals have a skeletal system with two main parts - the axial skeleton for support and limbs for movement. The limbs connect to the axial skeleton via girdles. The skeletal system is usually horizontal in mammals and is made mostly of bone, which contains living cells and gets oxygen from blood vessels. Movement in the forearm is enabled by the biceps muscle contracting to flex or bend the elbow, while the triceps muscle contracts to extend the elbow. The biceps and triceps work antagonistically, with one contracting as the other relaxes. Tendons made of collagen connect muscles to bones.

Uploaded by

bangiidaman
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Support And Movement In Mammals

Mammals have skeletons with two main parts- main axis (support) and limbs (appendages).
The limbs are connected to the main axis by girdles.

The skeletal system shown above is that of a human. For mammals however, the direction of
the axial skeleton is usually horizontal. Most of the system is made of bone which itself is
made of mineral compounds, such as calcium phosphate and magnesium salts. Although
bone is hard, it contains collagen fibres which give it some amount of elasticity. A supply
of food and oxygen is given to bones via blood vessels. Hence, bone contains living cells.
The labelled skeleton of a human can be seen below.

Movement in the forearm

Of course we all should know that our arms can be bent at the elbow. Contraction of the
biceps, which is attached to the scapula at the top and the radius at the bottom, pulls on the
radius and ulna co the arm can bend. This bending is known as flexing and the biceps
called flexor muscles.
Pushing, the reverse of pulling, is done by the triceps which contract to extend the arm.
These muscles are therefore called extensor muscles.
These two muscles in the arm work together. When one contracts, the other relaxes. As a
result, they are referred to as antagonistic muscles.
-Tendons join muscles to bone and are made of collagen fibres so they do not stretch

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