(a(i) Describe three features of a typical vertebra. (ii) Name three types of skeletons found in animals, and in each case name one animal which possesses i...

Answer Details

(a)(i) Three features of a typical vertebra

• It has a solid, weight-bearing block of bone called the centrum (body).
• It has a neural arch enclosing a neural canal through which the spinal cord passes.
• It bears projecting processes (a neural spine and a pair of transverse processes) for the attachment of muscles, and articulating facets (zygapophyses) for joining with the next vertebrae.

(a)(ii) Three types of skeleton with an animal in each case

(b)(i) Four functions of the mammalian skeleton

1. It supports the body and gives it a definite shape.
2. It protects delicate internal organs (for example the skull protects the brain, the ribs protect the heart and lungs).
3. It provides a framework for the attachment of muscles and, with the muscles and joints, brings about movement/locomotion.
4. It manufactures blood cells in the red bone marrow and stores minerals such as calcium and phosphate.

(b)(ii) Three types of skeleton with an animal in each case