Locomotor system: skeletal and muscular system, videos and mindmaps

 Dear students,

Please, review the following notes of the locomotor system.

The locomotor system is made up of two systems: the skeletal system and the muscular system. It works in combination with our senses and our nervous system to help us interact with the world around us.

The skeletal system

The skeletal system gives us support and stability as we move around and protects our vital organs. It´s made of bones, joints and ligaments.

We have 206 bones of different shapes and sizes in our body. Each bone is suited to its function. The largest bone is the femur which is long and extremely strong. The smallest bone is inside the ear and is only 3mm long. The rib cage has space inside it for some of our vital organs, such as the lungs and the heart.

Bones are hard and solid on the outside and sponge-like in the inside. The centre of our bones is called bone marrow. This is where the blood cells are produced.

Joints are where two bones meet. Bones are joined together at the joints ligaments. Ligaments are made of tough fibrous tissue.

Click to watch "Skeletal system" video

The muscular system

The muscular system allows us to move and perform voluntary actions such as waving our hand, and involuntary actions such as breathing. It´s made up of muscles and tendons.

Muscle tissue is soft and flexible. There are three types:

·   * Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles. We choose to contract them to move around.

·   * Smooth muscles are involuntary muscles. They can contract without us thinking about it. For example, there are smooth muscles in the small intestine that push food through the intestine.

·   * Cardiac muscles are also involuntary muscles. They are found only in the heart They contract automatically so that the heart can pump blood around the body.

Tendons attach muscles to bones. When we want to move, muscles contract and tendons pull on bones. For example, to lift your forearm up, the biceps pulls up the tendon, and the tendon pulls on the bones in the forearm, lifting it up.

Click to watch "Muscular system" video

Let´s try to create a mindmad for next week:

- What are the two main parts of the locomotor system?

- Do they work in combination with any other things?

- How many bones do we have in our body?

- How are the bones in the outside? And inside?

- What is the bone marrow (médula espinal)?

Muscular system

- What is the muscular system?

- How is the muscle tissue? Could you mention one example?

- What are skeletal muscles? Might you mention one example?

- What are smooth muscles? Would you mention one example?

- What are cardiac muscles? One example is ......

- What are the tendons?