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- Focus:
Bone is a living tissue. Students will discover this through a variety of hands-on activities.
Activities | Introduction | Objectives | Resources & Web Sites
Activities
| The teacher should refer to "Bone Background Information" prior to instructing this lesson. This will provide the teacher with additional understanding of bone as living tissue. |
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| Activity 3A: Gross Bone Anatomy & Skeleton Preparation |
(bone, anatomy, observation, trabecula bone, cancellous bone, specimen preparation) |
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| Activity 3B: Bone Coloring Sheet |
(bone, anatomy) |
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| Activity 3C: Firm but Flexible - Chicken Bone Lab |
(demineralization, bone, specimen preparation, anatomy, observation) |
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| Activity 3D: Blaster/Claster Wheel - Healthy |
(bone, micro-anatomy, bone remodeling, ordered coupling, health promotion, osteoblast, cycle, sequencing, bone mineral density)
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| Activity 3E: Blaster/Claster Wheel - Abnormal |
(bone, micro-anatomy, disordered coupling, osteoporosis, bone remodeling, unbalanced, cycle, sequencing, osteoblast, bone mineral density) |
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| Entire Lesson Download (23 pages) |
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Introduction
Lesson 3, "Anatomy of Living Bone" transitions from the full skeleton to individual bones. Bone anatomy is taught first at the gross and then the cellular levels. The first activities have students examining the external and internal characteristics of fresh and prepared bone specimens. Students learn perceptual concepts related to saggital, transverse, and cross-sectional views of bone sections - importantly, they observe the distribution of cancellous and trabecular bone. Activity 3C demonstrates the role of mineralization in bone strength and flexibility - by soaking chicken bones in vinegar, bone calcium is leached out over a period of 1-2 weeks. In contrast to its initial rigidity, the remaining demineralized bone matrix is flexible and may even be tied in a knot! The final two activities introduce students to the concept of bone remodeling. This involves coupling and communication between two key cell populations, osteoblasts (cells that create new bone) and osteoclasts (cells that resorb bone). When osteoblasts and osteoclasts are appropriately coupled, bone creation and resorption are in balance and bone mineral density remains constant. If the coupling mechanisms break down, then bone remodeling is out of balance. In the example of osteoporosis, bone resorption exceeds formation so that bone mass is gradually lost over a period of years. Coupling and balance between osteoblast and osteoclast activity are fundamental principles in understanding bone biology. Students create wheels (the "Blaster/Claster Wheel") that illustrate the five stages of bone remodeling (activation, resorption, reversal, formation, and quiescence phase), under conditions where coupling is both balanced and unbalanced.
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Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Analyze the gross anatomy of a long bone.
- Examine the structural properties of bone.
- Explain the relationship between osteoblasts and osteoclasts.
- Construct an "Osteo Blaster/Claster" Wheel.
- Describe changes in bone due to osteoporosis
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Resources & Web Sites
Bone Remodeling
http://www.uthscsa.edu/sah/pastudies/womenstandingstrong2003/
boneremodeling.html
Bone Remodeling
http://www.lilly.com/news/pdf/bone_remodeling_process_1003.pdf
Bone Dynamics
http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/MoreAbout/bonedynamics.html
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