Skeleton Structure
Skeleton Structure - Related Videos
08:02
Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton
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Cited by 18 •
2016
The branchial skeleton, including gill rakers, pharyngeal teeth, and branchial bones, serves as the primary site of food processing in most fish. Here we describe a protocol to dissect and flat-mount this internal skeleton in threespine sticklebacks. This method is also applicable to a variety of other fish species.
01:28
Carbon Skeletons
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2026
Life on Earth is carbon-based, as all macromolecules that make up living organisms contain carbon atoms. All organic compounds have a carbon backbone. Each carbon atom is tetravalent and can bond with four other atoms, making it an extraordinarily flexible component of biological molecules. Because carbon’s valence electrons are stable, it rarely becomes an ion. As the carbon chain increases in length, structural modifications such as ring structures, double bonds, and branching side chains...
01:21
Skeleton and Calcium Homeostasis
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2023
Calcium is not only the most abundant mineral in bone but also the most abundant mineral in the human body. Calcium ions are needed for bone mineralization, tooth health, heart rate regulation and strength of contraction, blood coagulation, the contraction of smooth and skeletal muscle cells, and the regulation of nerve impulse conduction. The average calcium level in the blood is about 10 mg/dL. When the body cannot maintain this level, a person will experience hypo or hypercalcemia.
01:09
Overview of the Axial Skeleton
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2025
The skeleton is subdivided into two major divisions—the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton forms the vertical, central axis of the body. It includes all of the bones of the head, neck, chest, and back. It protects the brain, spinal cord, heart, and lungs. It also serves as the attachment site for muscles that move the head, neck, and back and for muscles that act across the shoulder and hip joints to move their corresponding limbs. The axial skeleton of the adult...
01:09
Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
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2025
The upper and lower limb initially develops as a small bulge called a limb bud, which appears on the lateral side of the early embryo. The upper limb bud appears near the end of the fourth week of development, with the lower limb bud appearing shortly after. Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
FAQs
Begin by tracing every line and identifying each vertex and line end as a carbon position. Then account for the hydrogens attached to those carbons, which are normally not written. This lets the reader reconstruct the carbon framework without displaying every atom, while keeping attention on connectivity, branching, and the arrangement of the molecule.
Atoms such as oxygen and nitrogen remain labeled because their identities help reveal functional groups and distinguish chemically different parts of a molecule. Unlike omitted hydrogens on carbon, these labels carry essential structural information. Their visible positions allow chemists to recognize important features quickly and use the drawing when analyzing compounds or reactions.
Connectivity is read from the arrangement of lines, vertices, and closed paths. A branch appears where the carbon framework divides, while a ring is represented by a connected path that closes on itself. Because constitutional isomers differ in atom connectivity, comparing these features in their skeleton structures helps distinguish compounds that may contain the same types and numbers of atoms.
The drawing provides a compact map of the carbon framework that must be considered during naming. Its chain arrangement, branches, rings, and explicitly shown heteroatoms help organize the structural information needed to describe the compound. By examining connectivity before naming, chemists can compare the written name with the molecular arrangement and identify whether the intended structure is represented.
Place the structures side by side and compare the connectivity of their carbon frameworks and the positions of any explicitly labeled heteroatoms. Differences in branching, ring arrangement, or attachment points reveal how the atoms are connected differently. This visual comparison is more compact than displaying every carbon-bound hydrogen and supports clear distinction between related compounds.
Their compact format keeps the framework and functional-group locations visible while avoiding unnecessary detail from omitted carbon-bound hydrogens. During reaction analysis, chemists can focus on how connectivity and recognizable molecular features are represented before and after a transformation. In organic synthesis and research communication, the same economy of notation makes complex structures easier to present and compare.