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Key human anatomy and physiology principles as they relate to rehabilitation engineering
Published in Alex Mihailidis, Roger Smith, Rehabilitation Engineering, 2023
Qussai Obiedat, Bhagwant S. Sindhu, Ying-Chih Wang
The human skeleton provides a rigid framework that supports the body and gives it shape, while skeletal muscles that are attached to bones move the skeleton. The skeleton also protects some internal organs, contains and protects the red bone marrow which is responsible for blood formation, and stores excess calcium in the body (Scanlon and Sanders 2007). The human skeleton contains a total of 206 bones, and they are grouped into two main divisions: axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton forms the axis of the body and consists of approximately 80 bones including the bones of the skull, vertebral column, and rib cage. The appendicular skeleton attaches to the axial skeleton and contains the 126 bones of the extremities (Lippert 2006). There are four bone types in the human body: 1) long bones such as the humerus, 2) short bones such as wrist carpals, 3) flat bones such as scapula, and 4) irregular bones such as vertebrae (Scanlon and Sanders 2007).
Reduction and Fixation of Sacroiliac joint Dislocation by the Combined Use of S1 Pedicle Screws and an Iliac Rod
Published in Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski, Donald L. Wise, Debra J. Trantolo, Michael J. Yaszemski, Augustus A. White, Advances in Spinal Fusion, 2003
Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski, Donald L. Wise, Debra J. Trantolo, Michael J. Yaszemski, Augustus A. White
The vertebral column is the center of the axial skeleton and provides structural support, bending motion, and protection of the spinal cord. The column is comprised of several components: bone, intervertebral disc, muscle tendons and ligaments, and neural elements. Failure of one or any combination of these components may lead to spinal disease in which the normal mechanics of the vertebral column is disrupted. This results in a variety of clinical sequela including back pain, stiffness, or neurological compromise.
Designing for Upper Torso and Arm Anatomy
Published in Karen L. LaBat, Karen S. Ryan, Human Body, 2019
The spine and rib cage form the axial skeleton in the upper torso. The rib cage, introduced earlier for its protective functions and as part of the respiratory pump, helps stabilize the thoracic spine. The pectoral (shoulder) girdle—the bones supporting the upper limb—are attached, or “appended” to the rib cage at the upper section of the sternum—the manubrium. The pectoral girdle and the arm/wrist/hand bones are part of the appendicular skeleton.
Comparative anatomy of quadruped robots and animals: a review
Published in Advanced Robotics, 2022
Akira Fukuhara, Megu Gunji, Yoichi Masuda
Interestingly, we can find the origin of a mammal's flexible shoulders in the pectoral fins of ancient fish (Figure 1(A)). The pectoral fins of fishes are homologue to forelimbs and connect to the skull which is part of the axial skeleton [35]. This implies that the base of the pectoral fin is tightly fixed to the body. In contrast, in tetrapods, the forelimbs are completely separated from the skull because the bony skeleton connecting the skull and shoulders diminished during evolution (Figure 1(B)) [35]. In amphibians, reptiles, and birds, the forelimbs articulate with the axial skeleton via two bones: the clavicle and coracoid, which is a plate-like bone connecting the sternum and scapula (Figure 1(C)) [36,37]. This structure is looser than that in fishes, but still exhibits a rigid connection. In mammals, the connection between the forelimbs and trunk became even looser. This is because the coracoid bone was reduced and became a part of the scapula, which resulted in the forelimbs being only loosely connected to the clavicle. As previously mentioned, such an evolutionary change in the connecting system of the forelimbs enhanced the motion range of their proximal region. On the other hand, unlike the forelimbs, the connection between the hindlimbs and spine became more stable with evolution (Figure 1(D)). In a prehistoric lobe-finned fish Eusthenopteron, which is regarded as a species that is closely related to the earliest-known tetrapods, the pelvis was only supported by muscles, without the skeletal connection. However, in early tetrapods such as Acanthostega, the pelvis was connected to the spine by skeletal elements [38]. In terrestrial tetrapods, the tight coupling between the hindlimb and trunk would be crucial in transmitting the force of kicking the ground with the hindlimbs to the body as a propulsive force.
Promoting adaptive bone formation to prevent stress fractures in military personnel
Published in European Journal of Sport Science, 2022
Julie M. Hughes, Thomas J. O’Leary, Kristen J. Koltun, Julie P. Greeves
Vitamin D and calcium are essential micronutrients for the maintenance of bone health. Exercise causes acute disturbances to calcium homeostasis – decreased serum calcium, increased parathyroid hormone, and increased bone resorption – which may contribute to bone loss, whilst calcium supplementation can attenuate some of these disturbances (Kohrt et al., 2018). Insufficient calcium intake may explain the loss of bone from the axial skeleton in initial military training (Casez et al., 1995), but this needs further study. Supplementation with 1000 IU·d−1 vitamin D and 2000mg·d−1 calcium during 9 weeks of US Army initial military training increased circulating concentrations of calcium and attenuated the increase in parathyroid hormone compared with a control group (placebo condition) (Gaffney-Stomberg et al., 2014). Supporting pQCT data show that supplementation also increased total vBMD and cortical thickness at the distal tibia, whereas no adaptation was observed in the control group. Although the supplemented group also had decreased P1NP, indicative of decreased bone formation, OPG:RANKL was increased, indicating a decrease in osteoclast number and function. A follow-up study in US Marines observed no effect of 1000 IU·d−1 vitamin D and 2000mg·d−1 during 12 weeks basic training on tibial adaption measured by pQCT (Gaffney-Stomberg et al., 2019). No equivalent data are yet available on bone microarchitecture, but a recent HRpQCT study observed women who were vitamin D deficient had the greatest decrease in cortical vBMD during 8 weeks US Army initial military training (Hughes et al., 2018). The efficacy of vitamin D and calcium supplementation for promoting the bone adaptive response to initial military training remains to be confirmed. Supplementation with 800 IU·d−1 vitamin D and 2000mg·d−1 calcium in female US Navy recruits decreased the incidence of stress fracture from 8.6% in controls to 6.8% with supplementation (Lappe et al., 2008). Promoting an adaptive bone response with vitamin D and calcium supplementation may, therefore, reduce stress fracture risk, although this remains to be confirmed. Nevertheless, these studies suggest that calcium and vitamin D supplementation has potential for promoting adaptive bone responses to military training.