Musculoskeletal System

Every time you walk, settle into a chair, or hug your child, you're using your bones, muscles, and joints. Without these important body parts, we wouldn't be able to stand, walk, run, or even sit.

There are some Interesting Facts about the Musculoskeletal System:

- At birth we have over 300 bones. As we grow up, some of these bones fuse together, as a result an adult has only 206 bones.

- The human hand has 27 bones.

- The femur, or thighbone, is the longest bone in our body and is about a quarter of our height.

- The human body has 230 movable and semi-movable joints.

- The human skull is made up of 29 different bones.

- The strongest muscles of the human body are masseters, these are present on either side of the mouth and help with chewing and grinding food in our mouth.

- The thighbone is so strong that it withstands the axial load of about 1600-1800 kilos.

- Most of the bones in the human body constitutes about Va of water.

- The whole leg consists of 31 bones.

- Almost every seven years, the human body replaces the equivalent of an entirely new skeleton.

- Laughing and coughing creates more pressure on the spine than walking or standing.

- The shoulder blade is connected to the body by means of 15 different muscles and it is not attached to a single bone.

- Approximately 17 muscles contract for a smile.

- The human body consists of over 600 muscles.

- The middle part of the back is the least sensitive part of our body.

- The tongue is the most versatile muscle in the human body.

- The longest muscle in the human body is the sartorius, which is present in the hip region and it is commonly known as "Tailor's muscle".

- The smallest muscle in the human body is the stapedius, which is present deep inside the ear.

- The muscles of our body constitute 40% of our body weight.

- Our muscles often work in pairs so that they can pull in different or opposite directions.

- An average person laughs about 15 times a day.

Blood

Humans can't live without blood. Without blood, the body's organs couldn't get the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive; we couldn't keep warm or cool off, fight infections, or get rid of our own waste products. Without enough blood, we'd weaken and die.

Interesting Blood Facts:

- There is no substitute for human blood.

- Blood makes up about 7% of your body's weight.

- An average adult has about 14 to 18 pints of blood.

- One standard unit or pint of Blood equals about two cups.

- Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all of the body.

- Blood carries carbon dioxide and other waste products back to the lungs, kidneys and liver for disposal.

- Blood fights against infection and helps heal wounds.

- There are four main blood types: А, В, AB and O.

- Each blood type is either Rh positive or negative.

- The three main types of cells making up our blood are the white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

- White blood cells (WBCs) are the largest of the three types of cells and are responsible for fighting infections or germs. White blood cells have rather short life cycle, living from a few days to a few weeks. One drop of blood can contain from 7,000 to 25,000 white blood cells. If an invading infection fights back and persists, that number will significantly increase.

- Red blood Cells (RBCs) make up approximately 40% of blood volume, carry oxygen to the cells of your body and return to the lungs to excrete carbon dioxide.

- Platelets, the smallest of the blood cells; make up 5% to 7% of total blood volume. Platelets form a "mesh" net to form clots in the Blood to help stop bleeding.

- There are about one billion red blood cells in a few drops of whole blood.

- Red blood cells live about 120 days in our bodies.

- Red blood cells can be stored under normal conditions for up to 42 days.

- Frozen red blood cells can be stored for ten years, and more.

- Platelets must be used within five days.

- Platelets are small Blood cells that assist in the process of Blood clotting helping those with leukaemia and other cancers, controlling bleeding.

- Plasma, the fourth major component of blood, is a sticky, pale yellow fluid mixture of water, protein and salts. It is 95% water. The other 5% is made up of nutrients, proteins and hormones. Blood plasma constitutes 55% of the volume of human blood. Plasma helps maintain blood pressure, carries blood cells, nutrients, enzymes and hormones, and supplies critical proteins for blood clotting and immunity.