Adventures of the Agronauts

Bones and Muscles

Spaceflight can have an effect on two important systems in the human body: the skeletal system and the muscular system. Put these together and it is called the musculoskeletal (mus cue low skel eh tuhl) system. Bones and muscles work together to help us stand and situp, move, and keep us warm.

The skeletal system is made up of the 206 bones in the human skeleton. Bones have many important functions for our bodies. Our skeleton supports us so that we can stand up and hold our body up. Some bones protect special parts of our bodies, like the ribs that protect the heart and lungs and the skull that protects our brain. Some bones even help us to hear, like the tiny bones in our ears. They are the smallest bones in our bodies.

Rosy standing behind an x-ray machine so you can see her skeleton. Caption reads, 'Rosy has bones.' Tate standing behind an x-ray machine, so all you can see is the outline of his body. The caption reads, 'Tate has no bones.'

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