Skeletal

Skeletal is an adjective relating to the skeleton, the internal framework of an animal or human body that supports soft tissues, protects vital organs, and enables movement in cooperation with muscles.

Benefiting from a mineralized matrix and living cells, bones are living tissue that remodel in response to stress. The skeleton consists of the axial skeleton—skull, vertebral column, and rib cage—and the appendicular skeleton, comprising the limbs and their girdles.

Joints, or articulations, connect bones and allow movement. They are classified as fibrous, cartilaginous, or synovial, with synovial joints featuring a capsule and lubricating fluid.

Bone development occurs through intramembranous and endochondral ossification, with growth in length occurring at the epiphyseal plates during childhood and adolescence. Bone density typically peaks in early adulthood and may decline with age.

Common skeletal disorders include fractures, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and deformities such as scoliosis. Diagnosis relies on imaging techniques such as X-ray, CT, and MRI, and treatment ranges from immobilization and rehabilitation to surgical intervention.

Skeletal also appears in fields such as computer graphics, where a skeletal rig or skeleton drives the movement of a character’s mesh via a hierarchical set of bones, a technique known as skeletal animation.