The Skeleton Composed Of Bones

There are 206 bones in our body. You may think that this is too many, but with the example we will give, you will understand how necessary it is to have that many bones. Let's consider the fingers. If each of your fingers consisted of only one bone, you would not be able to hold a book. This is because a stiff bone cannot be bent and will eventually break if you force it too hard. Since you would not be able to bend your fingers, you would not be able to grasp or catch hold of objects either. Neither would you be able to write or eat. What enables you to hold a book easily and maybe to drink your fruit juice at the same time is the existence of 27 interconnected bones, including those of your fingers, in your hand.

As previously stated, there are 206 bones in our bodies, which are connected to each other like those in the hands. Each of these bones is situated in their places according to an intelligent plan. It is thanks to this perfect plan that you can bend your body forward, kneel and turn your head to the side. But make no mistake: you cannot do all these things just by using your bones, because bones cannot be bent. There are joints at the connection points of your bones. Thanks to these joints, you can easily bend your arm, raise your leg and use your fingers.

Let us give you an example in order to help you better understand how important joints are for the motion of our bones:

Suppose that you made a wooden puppet. What should you do to move its arms? The arms of the puppet will surely not move unless you place a joint where the arms are connected to the shoulder. How will you make its legs movable then? You have to use an articulating piece again where its legs join the trunk. Only then can you move the wooden puppet's arms and legs. Likewise, if you separate the wood you have used for arms and legs into two pieces and place articulating pieces, or joints, between these pieces, then the puppet's arms and legs will also be bendable at the elbows and knees respectively. As may be clearly understood by this example, having many bones and joints placed between them where necessary enables us to move easily.

THE INIMITABLE PROPERTIES OF BONES

There are different types of joints between our bones. While some joints enable bones to move back and forth, others enable bones to move sideways. Now let's examine the joints and bones a little more closely.

Our bones have undertaken the duties of carrying and protecting our bodies. Certainly, they are created capable and strong enough to perform these hard duties.

Our bones are light because they are interspersed with small holes like a honeycomb. But even though they are very light thanks to this porous structure, they are also very rigid. However this does not mean that they are fragile. On the contrary, they are so rigid that if you take the same amounts of bone and steel, they are 5 times stronger than steel. The thighbones in our legs, for example, have such an enormous capacity that they can lift a one ton load while standing upright. When you hop or jump from side to side, this bone is put under a weight corresponding to 3-4 times your body weight. However, you do not suffer any damage thanks to the firmness of your bones.

What makes bones so strong? In fact, the answer to this question is hidden in the matchless creation of bones, which we have briefly mentioned above. Bones are made of porous tissue like honeycomb. It is thanks to this structure that they are both very strong and light enough for easy use. Had it been otherwise, that is, if the inner parts of the bones had been rigid and did not have any spaces like the outer part, the bones would be too heavy. Furthermore, since they would not be elastic at all, you could have your bones broken or cracked with even the slightest of blows, say when you hit your arm lightly against the edge of a closet. However, Allah is All-Merciful and He created our bones so as to afford physical ease and protection.

What bones are made of has interested scientists a lot and they have tried to imitate bone tissue for years. This tissue, which is very strong, despite being very light, and which, most importantly, is capable of repairing itself, can grow on its own. The reason why your current body length is not the same as your length when you were 4-5 years old and why it will be different when you are 19-20 is the growth of your bones. Amazingly this growth is very well proportioned. Your arms grow while your legs grow; your fingers and toes grow harmoniously and the growth of each bone stops at an exact time. Furthermore, this does not happen only in your body but also in every healthy person's body. Everybody has bones possessing these characteristics.

Scientists are conducting studies in order to produce a substance similar to the one that forms the bones in a human body. However, nobody has been able to develop a substance with such advanced characteristics as a bone has.

It is thanks to the compassion of our Lord that our bones enable us to live our lives easily and to do a wide range of movements without difficulty and without suffering any pain.