Lab 5
Skeletal Tissue and The Axial Skeleton
Before coming to lab:
- Familiarize yourself with the major bones of the
axial skeleton.
- Look over Lab Manual Fig. 9.3 (p. 116) so
that you’re comfortable with the structures and
vocabulary associated with compact bone histology.
During the lab period (can be completed in any
order):
- For your Histology Notebook:
-
hyaline cartilage –
Brief Atlas: Plate 17 (p. 8);
Histology Atlas: Fig. 5.3 (p. 45)
- Recommended # of pages: 1-2
- Draw at 400x total magnification.
- A view at 100x may be helpful, too.
- Label the following: chondrocyte, lacuna,
matrix, perichondrium
-
compact bone – Brief
Atlas: Plate 20 (p. 9); Histology
Atlas: Fig. 6.4 (p. 53)
- Recommended # of pages: 1-2
- Draw at 100x total magnification.
- Label the following: osteon, central
(Haversian) canal, lacuna, lamella, canaliculus
- We also have a model of compact bone. Try
to find these structures on the model as
well.
- View additional slides of skeletal tissues: (these do
not have to be included in the Histology Notebook, but
they may show up on Lab Exam 1)
- elastic cartilage – note
the presence of the darkly-stained elastic fibers in
the matrix.
- fibrocartilage – this
tissue is notable for the presence of thick collagen
fibers; it appears like a hybrid of hyaline cartilage
and dense regular connective tissue.
- growing long bone – you
should be able to see the cartilage at the epiphyseal
plate with the naked eye!
- Sawed bone (stored in a clear, plastic bag)
- You should be able to see the compact bone
surrounding the medullary cavity.
- The cavity itself is filled with yellow bone
marrow.
- Also, find the periosteum; it’s the flaky
membrane surrounding the bone.
- Acid-soaked bone (stored in a small, ziplock bag)
- Acid dissolves the inorganic component of bone,
leaving only the organic component (mostly
collagen).
- Baked bones
- Baking bones dehydrates them, essentially drying
away the organic component. The inorganic component
(i.e., hydroxyapatites) remains.
- Looking at axial skeleton bones:
- Note: Much of the rest of this will seem a bit
overwhelming, but we’ll cover a great deal of this
material in lecture as well.
- Cranial bones
- Use the skull provided and the Brief
Atlas (Figs. 1-5, pp. 27-31) to identify the
following bones and sutures:
- frontal bone
- parietal bones
- temporal bones
- occipital bone
- sphenoid bone (Brief Atlas: Fig.
9, p. 36)
- ethmoid bone (Brief Atlas: Fig.
10, p. 37)
- coronal suture
- sagittal suture
- squamous suture
- lambdoid suture
- Facial bones
- Use the Beauchene skull and Marieb Lab
Manual Fig. 10.14 (p. 129) to identify the
following facial bones.
- mandible
- maxillae
- palatine bones
- zygomatic bones
- lacrimal bones
- nasal bones
- vomer
- Vertebral column
- Your lab group has been given three
vertebrae.
- There is one cervical, one thoracic and
one lumbar vertebra.
- Use Marieb Lab Manual Fig. 10.14
(p. 125) to determine which is which.
- Once you’re confident you can tell the
difference, there is a pink Tupperware box of
vertebrae on the front bench. Try to sort them
out.
- Bony thorax
- On the skeleton, identify the ribs and the
sternum.
- Note how the ribs attach to the
sternum.
- The clay on the skeletons is meant to
represent the costal cartilages.
By the next lab:
- Come into the lab when you are free.
- The bones will be available in the back
room.
- If there’s something missing (or something you’d
like to see), I’ll be happy to get it out for
you.
- Next week’s lab will be dedicated to the appendicular
skeleton.
- I suggest you practice labeling the attached
figure.
- I will post the answers outside of my office.
(Note: This is optional.)
- Spend time looking over the Lab Exam 1 Review
Sheet to see what you’re responsible for regarding
the bones.
