The question of how many bones a person has is purely medical, and oddly enough, there is no single answer for him. You can specify the number of bones only when taking into account the age of a person and his individual characteristics.
So, in an adult, the skeleton usually consists of 206 bones, and at the same time, the child has about 300 bones in the skeleton. But why is there such a difference, and how is the children's skeleton different from the adult? Why can an adult have more or less bones? Medicine has the answers to these questions.
Why can an adult have more or less bones?
The fact is that in an adult, many bones fuse together, becoming a single whole, and at the same time in a child, the same bones can consist of separate fragments connected only by cartilaginous tissues. From here this difference arises, depending on age. The fusion of a number of bones begins in infancy, and later, with the advent of the late adolescence, this process ends.
A variation in the number of bones in an adult is observed due to the fact that some bones may not grow together under certain conditions, or bone fusion may occur, which in most people remains separately located until the end of days. In addition, for a number of reasons, additional bones may appear.
So, for example, there is such a disease as polydactyly.In this case, a person may have sixth fingers - on one arm, on both, or on the arms and legs. The extra finger is the extra bones that will remain in the body if a person does not undergo an operation to remove the extra finger. Here is one example that clearly demonstrates variations in bone count. And this is not to mention injuries that can lead to an increase or decrease in the number of bones in the body. Each person is individual, and in terms of the skeleton this is also relevant.
Is bone a dead inorganic tissue, or living organ?
Bones cause many other issues. For example, do not all people know whether this is a living part of the body, or is it just some kind of petrified foundation on which soft tissues rest, preventing the human body from turning into a jellyfish? In fact, bone is living tissue, it is an organ that performs its own functions in the body. It is also worth noting that in childhood and adolescence there is more living tissue in the bone and fewer inorganic elements, and because of this, the bone can grow, and it is more plastic and less prone to fractures. Closer to old age, inorganic elements become much larger than living tissue, and therefore the bone becomes brittle and vulnerable.
The structure and function of bones
The bulk of the living bone is the bone marrow. And it not only represents the core of the bone, it plays a huge role in the body. So, the bone marrow is known for its blood-forming functions; it is responsible for the formation of red blood cells.Also in the skeleton accumulate substances that are then used by the body. The bone marrow also produces special cells, which then pass into the spongy tissues of the body. These are the functions of the skeleton that are not related to the support and support of the body. And bones play a protective function, providing patronage to internal organs, protection from shock. It provides the dynamics of the body when viewed together with joints and ligaments. All this is extremely important for the human body.
The dynamics of bone tissue
It is worth noting that in infancy, bones occupy a significant percentage of the weight, more substantial than in adulthood. In a baby, 20 percent of the body weight is formed precisely by bone mass. But at the same time, a premature baby has bones of a smaller size than those born on time, and this is also the norm.
Initially, the bones of a baby are flexible. Otherwise, he would be stuck in the birth canal and could not be born, leading to death and a woman in childbirth. Many women are frightened, noting that the child was born with a head shape resembling a melon - but this is completely normal. In the process of labor, the bones of the skull are flattened, and the presence of fontanelles, that is, cavities filled with cartilaginous tissue between them, creates the possibility of such deformation without harming the child, and the brain is also adapted for this. Subsequently, the bones are straightened and occupy their normal position, and the child’s head is rounded. This is a feature of the bones of a newborn baby.
In infancy, the baby can be so flexible that it manages to suck toes. And this is also the norm, he succeeds due to the flexibility of joints and bones. In the future, such opportunities are lost, and the bone and articular systems become more rigid. After all, an adult should withstand physical stress and other external negative influences, from which a strong bone protects him first of all.
