Mitochondria
5 Minutes
Appendicular skeletal system for students: learn about upper and lower limbs, pectoral girdles, and pelvic girdles. An English science lesson.
- Review of the axial skeletal system and why limbs are needed
- Upper limbs for hands and lower limbs for legs and movement
- Pectoral and pelvic girdles that connect the limbs to the body
What this lesson teaches
The appendicular skeletal system is the division of the human skeleton that contains the limbs and the bones connecting them to the body, giving the body support and the ability to move. Together with the axial skeletal system, it forms the complete skeletal system of the human body.
Limbs and their functions
- Upper limbs are the hands and arms, which make it possible to eat food, pick up objects, and touch things in everyday life.
- Lower limbs are the legs, which provide the essential support needed to stand upright, walk around, and run.
- These two limb groups work together to perform the essential daily actions that the axial framework cannot do alone.
Connecting bones called girdles
Girdles are the specialized bones that connect the upper limbs and lower limbs directly to the body. Just as a hanger or a hook is needed to hang a shirt neatly on a wall instead of trying to stick it with glue, limbs require proper bone connections to stay attached. A girdle serves this exact purpose by linking each limb firmly to the rest of the body.
Two types of girdles
- Pectoral girdles are the shoulder bones that connect both arms to the body frame.
- Pelvic girdles are the hip bones that attach both legs to the body frame.
- Both sets of girdles act as the structural anchors that hold the moving limbs in place.
Building the full human skeleton
The complete skeletal system of the human body is formed by combining the axial skeletal system and the appendicular skeletal system. The axial system includes the skull, the vertebral column, and the rib cage, but these three components alone cannot provide movement to the body. Movement and support happen only when the hands, legs, and their connecting girdle bones are added to complete the body structure.