Which part of the skeleton forms a hard bony case around the brain?

Which part of the skeleton forms a protective frame around the heart and lungs that can still expand outward when a person breathes in?

Which part of the skeleton is a column of many small bones that holds the body upright and protects the bundle of nerves running down the back?

Which bone is the longest bone in the body and carries the weight of the body down through the thigh when a person stands?

Which part of the skeleton is a wide basin of fused bone that passes the weight of the upper body across to the legs?

What is a place where two bones meet, so that movement between them becomes possible, called?

A cavity in the shaft of a long bone holds a soft tissue in which red blood cells are formed. What is this tissue?

Bones support the body, but they also store a mineral that is released into the blood when the level in the blood falls. Which mineral is stored in bone?

The thigh bone meets the pelvis at the hip. There the leg can swing forward, backward and out to the side, and can also rotate. Which type of joint is at the hip?

Turning the head from side to side to mean 'no' happens where the first two bones of the spine meet, just under the skull. Which type of joint allows this rotation?

The knee bends and straightens as a person walks, but the lower leg cannot be swung out to the side at that point. Which type of joint is the knee?

A swimmer's arm circles all the way around at the shoulder, moving forward, upward, out to the side and back. Which type of joint makes this range of movement possible?

The small bones of the wrist slide a short way across one another, letting the hand shift in several directions without bending or rotating at those bones. Which type of joint lies between them?

The flat bones of an adult skull meet along wavy seams called sutures. Which type of joint are these?

Which type of muscle tissue makes up the quadriceps?

The biceps shortens only when the person decides to move the arm. The muscle in the wall of the stomach, by contrast, works without any conscious control. Which muscle tissue is in the stomach wall?

A tissue sample is made of striated cells that branch and join end to end, and the sample contracts rhythmically without any conscious control. Which muscle tissue is it?

Cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle both look striated under a microscope. Which feature would tell a student that a striated sample is cardiac muscle?

A cramp in the calf is a long, painful contraction of muscle that the person can normally start and stop at will. Which muscle tissue is cramping?

On a cold day the wall of an artery in the skin narrows, reducing blood flow, and the person does not choose it. Which muscle tissue in the artery wall produces this narrowing?

A person bends the elbow to lift a book up toward the shoulder. Which muscle shortens to produce that movement?

A person straightens a bent knee to kick a ball forward. Which muscle shortens to produce that movement?

While the biceps contracts to bend the elbow, what is the muscle on the opposite side of the upper arm doing?

A person straightens a bent elbow, lowering the forearm away from the shoulder. Which muscle contracts to produce this movement?

A runner bends one knee, drawing the heel up toward the buttock. Which thigh muscles shorten to produce this movement?

A person stands up from a chair, so both knees straighten. Which description of the thigh muscles fits that movement?

A dancer rises onto the toes, pointing the foot downward at the ankle. Which muscle must shorten for the heel to lift?

A person holds a book still with the elbow bent at a right angle, neither raising nor lowering it. Which muscle is contracting to hold the forearm in that position?

A tough cord carries the pull of the large muscle on the front of the thigh to the kneecap. What is this structure?

A surgeon repairs an injury in which a leg muscle has torn away from the bone it pulls on. Which structure has torn?

A basketball player twists an ankle and tears a band of tissue that holds one bone to another across the joint. Which tissue is torn?

Which tissue covers the ends of the bones inside a movable joint, giving a smooth surface that lowers friction as the bones move on each other?

Tendons and ligaments are both tough connective tissue. What is the difference between what they join?

Pads of cartilage lie between the bones of the spine. What do these pads do as a person runs and jumps?

Muscles between the ribs contract and pull the rib cage upward and outward. Which action does this produce?

Where a muscle crosses a joint, one end attaches to a bone that stays nearly still and the other to a bone that moves. What happens to the moving bone when that muscle shortens?

A person lifts a load by bending the elbow. Which part of the arm acts as the fixed point, or fulcrum, of the lever?

Imagine the skeletal muscles of a leg were healthy but the bones they attach to were taken away. What would happen when those muscles contracted?

A person stands still for several minutes. What are the skeletal muscles along the spine doing during that time?

A broken femur is held still in a cast for eight weeks. The thigh muscles are noticeably smaller and weaker when the cast comes off. What best explains this?