Medical English - Reading & Speaking - Skeletons & Bones 1

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1. Speaking - Discuss your answers to the following questions with your partner.

Have you ever broken a bone? How did you do it?
When was the last time you had an x-ray taken? Why?
Have you ever dislocated your shoulder?
Do you consume a lot of calcium in your diet?

2. Vocabulary development - Match the words on the left to the meanings on the right.

a. vertebra 1. the head bones, including the cranium and mandible
b. ligaments 2. a break
c. skeleton 3. one of the bones of the spinal column
d. skull 4. soft tissue found in the interior of bones
e. cartilage 5. the framework of bones that supports the body
f. calcium 6. a bone disease where bones become brittle and fragile
g. marrow 7. a firm, flexible connective tissue covering joints
h. detoxification 8. fibrous tissue that connects bones together
i. fracture 9. the chemical element essential for bones and teeth
j. osteoporosis 10. the removal of harmful substances from the body

3. Speaking and Reading - Discuss the following statements with your partner and decide if they are
true or false. Read the article on page 2 and check your answers.

1. There are slightly less than 200 bones in the body of an average adult.
2. Bones are held together with ligaments, tendons, muscles and joints.
3. The skull is one large single bone.
4. There are thirty-three rib bones.
5. Vertebrae are cushioned by cartilage.
6. The foot is the boniest part of the body.
7. The skull is the strongest bone in the body.
8. The smallest bone in the body is located in the middle ear.
9. Bones mainly consist of carbon.
10. Bones play a part in detoxification.
11. The most commonly broken bone is in the foot.
12. An open fracture is one which breaks the surface of the skin.
Medical English - Reading & Speaking - Skeletons & Bones 2
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The average adult has between 206
and 350 bones in their body. The
number of bones varies from person
to person depending on such factors
as age and anatomical variations.
Some people, for example, may
have an extra rib and others may
have an extra lumbar vertebra.

Types of bones
There are five types of bones; long
bones which are longer than they are
wide, short bones which are as wide
as they are tall, flat bones are thin
and generally curved, including the
sternum (breastbone) and the
scapula (shoulder blade), irregular
bones, such as the vertebrae, which
have complicated shapes, and
sesamoid bones which are
embedded in tendons. All these
bones, held together by ligaments,
tendons, muscles and joints, make
your skeletal form.

The skeleton
The skeleton can be divided into
two parts; the axial skeleton and the
appendicular skeleton.

The axial skeleton consists of 80
bones of the head and trunk. There
are 26 bones in the skull which
consists of both the cranium and the
mandible. The bones of the chest
protect the heart and lungs and
consist of the sternum and 24 ribs.
The trunk is supported by the spinal
column (backbone) which has 33
vertebrae cushioned by discs of
cartilage.

The appendicular skeleton consists
of 126 bones and includes all the
bones of the shoulder, arm, hand,
pelvis, leg and foot. The boniest part
of the body is the hand followed by
the foot. There are 27 bones in each
hand and 26 bones in each foot. The
longest and strongest bone in the
body is the femur, the thigh bone.

The smallest
The smallest bone in the body is
called the stapes and is located in
the middle ear. There are three
bones in the middle ear which are
called the ossicles, meaning little
bones. Measuring just 2.6 - 3.4mm
and weighing only 2 - 4.3mg the
stapes is also known as the stirrup
due to its shape.

The function
Formed mostly of calcium
phosphate there are eight main
functions of bones. As well as
providing structural support for the
body they also protect internal
organs, such as the cranium
protecting the brain. Bones,
interacting with muscles, allow the
body to move. Marrow, located in
the hollow interior of bones,
produces blood cells. Bones are a
store of minerals, particularly
calcium and phosphorus. Bones play
a role in detoxification and pH
balance of the blood. Finally, the
ossicle bones transmit sound to the
inner ear.

Bad breaks
Broken bones can occur as a result
of injury or certain diseases such as
osteoporosis. The most common
bone fracture for people under 65
years of age is the wrist, while the
over 65s most commonly break the
hip bone. In a complete fracture the
bone breaks into two or more
pieces. In an incomplete fracture the
bone does not break all the way
across. In an open fracture the
broken bone pierces the surface of
the skin, while in closed fractures it
does not.
Them bones, them bones...
Medical English - Reading & Speaking - Skeletons & Bones 3
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4. Reading - comprehension check. Read the article on page 2 and answer the following questions.

a. What factors influence the number of bones in a persons body?
b. What are the characteristics of the five different bone types?
c. What is the difference between the axial and appendicular skeletons?
d. What is the collective name of the bones in the middle ear? What is their function?
e. What are bones predominantly made of?
f. What are the functions of bones?
g. Which are the most commonly broken bones?
h. What is the difference between a complete and an incomplete fracture?

5. Reading - What do the following numbers refer to?











6. Vocabulary development - Match the list of bones a- h to their definitions 1- 8.

a. vertebra 1. the shoulder blade
b. sternum 2. the main head bone
c. scapula 3. the bone of the middle ear shaped like a stirrup
d. cranium 4. the breastbone
e. mandible 5. the thigh bone
f. rib 6. one of the thirty-three bones that make up the spinal cord
g. femur 7. one of the twenty-four bones that protects the chest
h. stapes 8. the bone of the lower jaw
5
350
27
8
4.3
26
80
126
33
3.4
Medical English - Reading & Speaking - Skeletons & Bones 4
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Reading - Skeletons & Bones - Teachers notes Procedure and Answers
This is a reading skills lesson, providing vocabulary practice. Timing = 90+ minutes.

1. Exercise 1, page 1 - Discussion. Students work in pairs or small groups to discuss their answers to the questions. Conduct
class feedback, eliciting any interesting information or stories. Do not conduct a correction session.
2. Exercise 2, page 1 - Vocabulary. Individually, students match the words numbered a-j to their definitions 1-10. They may
use dictionaries to help with unfamiliar words. Students check their answers in pairs. Conduct class feedback. All the
words relate to bones and appear in the reading text on page 2.
3. Exercise 3, page 1 - Pre-reading task. Students work in pairs and decide if the twelve statements about bones are true or
false. If they dont know an answer they can either guess or just leave it and move on.
4. Page 2 - Reading. Give each student a copy of the reading passage on page 2. Students read the article and check their
answers to exercise 3, page 1. Once finished students check their answers with their partner. Conduct class feedback
5. Exercise 4, page 3 - Reading comprehension. Individually students answer questions a-h referring to the text. As they
have already read the passage once this exercise encourages the reading skill of scanning. You may want to set a time
limit on this exercise to further encourage this reading sub-skill. Students check their answers in pairs. Conduct class
feedback.
6. Exercise 5, page 3. Go through this exercise as a whole class, eliciting answers from around the class.
7. Exercise 6, page 3 - Vocabulary. Individually, students match the words numbered a-h to their definitions 1-8. All the
words are names of bones and appear in the text on page 2. Students check their answers in pairs. Conduct class feedback
and elicit any more names of bones the students might know, e.g. ulna, incus, patella, etc.

Answers

Exercise 2, Page 1 - Vocabulary
a. 3. b. 8. c. 5. d. 1. e. 7. f. 9. g. 4. h. 10. i. 2. j. 6.

Exercise 3, Page 2 - Reading - true or false
1. false - there are between 205 and 350 bones 7. false - the femur (thigh bone) is the strongest
2. true 8. true
3. false - there are 26 bones in the skull 9. false - bones mainly consist of calcium phosphate
4. false - there are 24 ribs and 33 vertebrae 10. true
5. true 11. false - for under 65s the wrist, for over 65s the hip
6. false - the hand has the most bones 12. true

Exercise 4, Page 3 - Reading comprehension
a. The number of bones in the body is influenced by such factors as age and anatomical variations.
b. Long bones are longer than they are wide / short bones are as wide as they are tall / flat bones are thin and generally
curved / irregular bones have complicated shapes / sesamoid bones are embedded in tendons.
c. The axial skeleton is comprised of the bones of the head and trunk while the appendicular skeleton includes the bones of the
shoulder, arm, hand, pelvis, leg and foot.
d. There are three bones of the middle ear, collectively known as ossicles. Their purpose is to transmit sound to the inner ear.
e. Bones are predominantly made of calcium phosphate.
f. There are eight functions of bones - structural support, protection, movement, blood cell production, mineral storage,
detoxification, pH balance, sound transduction.
g. Among the under 65 year olds the most commonly broken bone is the wrist bone. For the over 65s the most commonly
broken bone is the hip bone.
h. A complete fracture is one in which the bone breaks into separate pieces while in an incomplete fracture the bone does not
break all the way across.

Medical English - Reading & Speaking - Skeletons & Bones 5
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Reading - Skeletons & Bones - Teachers notes Procedure and Answers
Answers

Exercise 5, Page 3 - Numbers
5 - there are 5 bones types - long, short, flat, irregular, sesamoid
350 - the maximum number of bones in an adult body
27 - the number of bones in each hand
8 - there are 8 functions of bones
4.3 - the maximum weight, in milligrammes, of the stapes bone
26 - the number of bones in the skull and the number of bones in the foot
80 - the number of bones in the axial skeleton
126 - the number of bones in the appendicular skeleton
33 - the number of vertebrae that make the spinal column
3.4 - the maximum length, in millimetres, of the stapes bone

Exercise 6, Page 3 - Vocabulary
a. 6. b. 4. c. 1. d. 2. e. 8. f. 7. g. 5. h. 3.

Further development Medical Crosswords - Skeletons & Bones - Advanced, complements this lesson.