This chapter deals with the skeletal system--the bones that form the framework for the body. It explains the function and structure of bones, and how they are classified according to structure (objectives 1, 2, and 5). The development of different types of bones and the environmental factors that affect this development (objectives 3 and 4) are also explained. The chapter describes skeletal organization and the location of specific bones within various parts of the skeleton (objectives 6 and 7).

Movement is a characteristic of living things. A study of the skeletal system is necessary to understand how a complex organism, like the human, is organized to accomplish movement.