Body & Mind Training Center

Cardiac Volumes :


Cardiac Volumes are the amount of blood moved by the heart at any time:

Stroke Volume (SV): This is the amount of blood pumped from the heart, each time the heart contracts. At rest this is between 70-100ml, during exercise the figure increases to 113-179ml. The fitter an individual is, the higher their stroke volume.

Cardiac Output (CO): The amount of blood ejected from the heart in the space of a minute. This can be calculated by multiplying the stroke volume and the heart rate (beats per minute). This can range from 5,000ml at rest to 35,000ml during maximal exercise.

End Diastolic Volume (EDV): The amount of blood within the left ventricle prior to the contraction (systolic) phase of a heart beat.

End Systolic Volume (ESV): The volume of blood remaining in the ventricle after contraction. The stroke volume is equal to EDV-ESV

The Human Skeleton :


The human skeleton is made up of 206 bones. The functions of the skeleton are to provide support, give our bodies shape, provide protection to other systems and organs of the body, to provide attachments for muscles, to produce movement and to produce red blood cells.

The main bones of the human skeleton are:

The Skull - Cranium, Mandible and Maxilla
Shoulder girdle - clavicle and scapula
Arm - humerus, radius and ulna
Hand - Carpals, Metacarpals and Phalanges
Chest - Sternum and Ribs
Spine - Cervical area (top 7 vertibrae), Thoracic (next 12), Lumbar (bottom 5 vertebrae), Sacrum (5 fused or stuck together bones) and Coccyx (the tiny bit at the bottom of the spine).
Pelvic girdle - Ilium, Pubis and Ischium.
Leg - Femur, Tibia and Fibula
Ankle - Talus and calcaneus (not shown blow
Foot - Tarsals, Metatarsals and Phalanges.






How are bones formed ?

Bones are formed by the ossification of cartilage. What this really means is all bones start off as cartilage (normally in the womb) and they gradually turn to hard bone (ossification) over a period of years.
Calcuim is needed for strong bone growth.

The Skeleton and bone type

On this part you will find simple to follow explanations of the human skeleton, types of bone and bone formation.


: The Functions of the Skeleton

The skeleton consists of all of the bones within the human body. The skeleton has five main functions:

Support: The skeleton supports the soft tissues of the body as it forms a rigid framework to which our muscles, tendons, ligaments etc attach.

Shape: The overall shape of our bodies is mostly due to our skeletons. e.g. your skeleton determines if you are short or tall by how long your bones are

Protection: Our bones are very strong and can provide protection to the vital organs. e.g. the skull protects the brain, and the ribs and sternum protect the heart and lungs

Movement: Our bones are levers which are pulled by the muscles to cause movement

Making blood cells: Inside long bones is a substance called bone marrow, which makes new blood cells.



: Types of Bones

Bones are classified into four groupes

: Long Bones



Have a body longer than it is wide
Have a hard outer casing with spongy bone in the centre
Bones such as the Femur, Humerus and Metatarsals



: Short Bones




Are roughly as wide as they are long
Contain large amounts of bone marrow to make blood vessels
Bones such as the Carpals and Tarsals in the wrist and foot

: Flat Bones




Strong, flat pieces of bone
Their main functions are protection and muscle attachment
Bones such as the cranium (skull) and scapula (shoulder blade)

: Irregular Bones




Do not fit into any of the other categories and often have an unusual shape
Bones such as the Vertebrae, Sacrum and Mandible



: Bone Formation




Ossification is the process by which cartilage is turned to bone.

When we are born our bones are actually cartilage!
The process of ossification turns the cartilage to bone. This can take up to a few years for some bones!
Bones are made up of several layers. The outermost layer is called the periosteum
There is then an outer layer of strong compact (hard) bone
The centre of bones contains spongy (cancellous) bone
Some spongy bone contains red bone marrow, which makes red blood cells
The marrow cavity contains yellow marrow which makes white blood cells

: The Anatomy of the Spine


: The 5 sections of the spine

The cervical spine makes up the neck and has 7 vertibrae.
The thoracic spine has 12 vertibrae which the ribs attach to.
The lumbar spine has 5 which make the lower back.
The sacrum consists of 5 bones which are fused or stuck together and the coccyx is made up of 4 tiny bones and used to be a tail.






: Intervertibral Discs

Each vertibrae is separated by intervertibral discs which are flexible cartilage discs. These allow movement in the spine and have a shock absorbing or cushioning function as well.



Each disc is made up of two parts, a tougher fibrous outside and a central substance called nucleus pulposus. When a disc is damaged (or prolapsed) it is the squidgy liquid in the middle which often squeezes out putting pressure on the spinal cord causing pain.

Structure of Bone :


It is important for bones to be strong to support our body weight and in some cases provide protection such as the skull and ribs. However, they must also be light enough to make movement possible.

A long bone consists of several sections:




Diaphysis: This is the long central shaft
Epiphysis: Forms the larger rounded ends of long bones
Metaphysis: Area between the diaphysis and epiphysis at both ends of the bone
Epiphyseal Plates: Plates of cartilage, also known as growth plates which allow the long bones to grow in length during childhood. Once we stop growing, between 18 and 25 years of age the cartilage plates stop producing cartilage cells and are gradually replaced by bone.
Covering the ends of bones, where they form a joint with another bone, is a layer of hyaline cartiage. This is a firm but elastic type of cartilage which provides shock absorbtion to the joint and has no neural or vascular supply

Types of Joint :


A joint is the point where two or more bones meet. There are three main types of joints; Fibrous (immoveable), Cartilagenous (partially moveable) and the Synovial (freely moveable) joint.




Fibrous joints :

Fibrous (synarthrodial): This type of joint is held together by only a ligament. Examples are where the teeth are held to their bony sockets and at both the radioulnar and tibiofibular joints.

Cartilagenous :

Cartilagenous (synchondroses and sympheses): These joints occur where the connection between the articulating bones is made up of cartilage for example between vertebrae in the spine.

Synchondroses are temporary joints which are only present in children, up until the end of puberty. For example the epiphyseal plates in long bones. Symphesis joints are permanant cartilagenous joints, for example the pubic symphesis.

Synovial Joints :

Synovial (diarthrosis): Synovial joints are by far the most common classification of joint within the human body. They are highly moveable and all have a synovial capsule (collagenous structure) surrounding the entire joint, a synovial membrane (the inner layer of the capsule) which secretes synovial fluid (a lubricating liquid) and cartilage known as hyaline cartilage which pads the ends of the articulating bones. There are 6 types of synovial joints which are classified by the shape of the joint and the movement available.


Types of Synovial Joint :

Joint Type and Movement at joint and Examples of Structure

Hinge : Flexion/Extension


Elbow/Knee





Hinge joint




Pivot : Rotation of one bone around another


Top of the neck
(atlas and axis bones)





Pivot Joint





Ball and Socket : Flexion/Extension/AdductioAbduction/Internal & External Rotation


Shoulder/Hip





Ball and socket joint