Bones
_I: If I start to think about what system comes to mind when I think about the feet, I must inevitably think about the skeletal system, basically because the feet support the weight of everything, they are the foundations of the structure that we are.
_AM: That's right. The skeletal system is the structure that keeps the entire body standing, it is the rigid part on which everything else is built. We could take the skeleton as the fundamental architecture of a body.
_I: Why do some of us have bones and other beings don't?
_AM: At the beginning of biological times, life occurred in aquatic, liquid environments, and therefore, movement depended on waves, on water. This suggests that there is no primary need to have a heavy bone structure. Thus, the first beings to move formed layers of chondrocytes (cells based on collagen and proteoglycans) that make up the connective tissue called “cartilage.” This structure allowed living beings in the seas to be flexible but at the same time have strength to move. Thus, the marine, aquatic animal kingdom is made up of cartilaginous structures, which became more complex with the aim of allowing the firmness of the muscles, the union and containment of the organ structure. As the cells multiply and the organelles that live in the cytoplasm of a cell begin to multiply, becoming organs, the cell membranes are not enough to contain the weight of this new organization, so the cartilage tissues help contain them, strengthening the structure. They protect the nervous system first, creating the idea of a spine, a column. This divides the marine kingdoms between “invertebrates” (those that have their organs protected in shells or cartilage, such as crabs and jellyfish, octopuses and prawns), and on the other hand “vertebrates”, whose cartilages form a central axis. of the nervous system to which the rest of the organs and cartilage are supported.
_I: But, in the sea there are vertebrates that do not have a bone system just made of cartilage, such as whales, dolphins...
_AM: But this is because these species are marine today, although there was a long period in which they were not.
_I: How?
_AM: In the historical line, we could say that unicellular organisms are born in the oceans, subsequently producing zooplankton, of which a cartilaginous base begins to be composed that gives rise to invertebrate organisms such as mollusks and jellyfish, which begin to constitute layers of minerals creating shells and armor, like crabs and corals. Then the cartilaginous vertebrates appear, that is, the kingdom of fish, from the paedocypris that measures 7 millimeters to the whale shark of about 10 meters (this is only talking about current animals, not counting the giants of the era of the dinosaurs, where the Leedsichthys measured about 16 meters with the appearance of a salmon). Between prehistoric periods, climate changes led many marine animals to move to the coast to live an amphibian life. When these animals began the development of their lives on the earth's surface, cartilage also became a form of storage for minerals for the body, which they previously obtained from sea currents. Thus, the cartilage began to calcify, acquiring calcium particles, and containing the marrow inside, a cellular tissue that produces blood cells. The gravity that is felt on land is not the same as that that can be felt in the sea, because the density of water reduces the gravitational sensation, making heavy beings able to float, and therefore, the great beings that came to live at the surface, they were forced to improve their mobility capacity in dry environments, which led to cartilage becoming bone to support the structure, the weight. Thus, vertebrate creatures emerged with bone formation, which allowed structural support of weight, protection of weak organs and mineral reserves, as well as containment of the marrow.
_I: Oh, so whales and dolphins once lived on Earth...
_AM: And they looked like cows that turned into walruses and sea lions, which never came out of the water again.
_I: The story is so strange... Millions of years, which do not enter the head in the face of so much transformation.
_AM: Likewise, we humans have also been marine beings who eventually became terrestrial beings.
_I: Wow… Like mermaids?
_AM: No. But if you like to think about it that way...
_I: Okay. Then, we begin to build bones to be able to stand, move, walk, climb, run, maintain the structure of our body.
_AM: That's right. A human has approximately 206 bones, since some join together and become one over time, such as the coccyx, which goes from being 3 vertebrae to becoming one in adulthood.
_I: Why?
_AM: The tailbone is the last part of the spine, which used to be the base of a tail.
_I: We had tails like cats!?
_AM: There was a time millions of years ago that it did, like certain monkeys, although we hominids lost it, becoming the tailbone. From being a flexible extension to maintain balance when walking, it became the axis on which we sit firmly. Therefore, by not having mobility or flexibility as before, they calcify, becoming one.
_I: Oh, I understand… What are the 206 bones?
_AM: We will not focus on each one, but we can consider the most important ones. There are two ways to look at the skeleton. The Axial skeleton, composed of the parts that constitute the axis, the axis of the body: Skull, Column and Ribs; while the Appendicular skeleton constitutes the mirrored parts, replicated from the shoulders and arms, as well as the hips and legs. The Skull protects the fundamental parts of a being's life very well, containing the brain, the central operations center of the nervous system, with its fundamental glands. It is a smooth structure, where the parts do not have joints, but rather form a whole. Inside the skull is the smallest bone of all, the “hammer” and its “anvil”, which are supported by sensitive cartilage that vibrates to sound waves, generating small knocks in the style of Morse code, transmitting the signals. from sound to neurons that will interpret them as words, noise or music. The lower jaw is made up of cartilage and muscular tissues that press it against the upper jaw, forming part of the cranial set, which contains 32 teeth, including incisors, laterals and molars. These are made up of enamel, dentin and cement, hard tissues differentiated from bones. The Vertebral Column supports the skull from its base, uniting it to the rest of the bone structures. The spine is made up of 33 vertebrae, which in some cases join together to form one, as we have said about the coccyx. There are 7 Cervical vertebrae, 12 Thoracic (or dorsal), 5 Lumbar, plus the Sacrum (6 united) and the Coccyx (3 united). These 33 steps constitute the initiatory path of a human being, with its 11 physical, 11 emotional and 11 mental steps.
_I: 11:11:11, the ascension code.
_AM: Exactly. Therefore, inside the spine, you find the spinal cord, the nervous trunk to which all the organs are attached and from where all the information emitted and received branches. From the Column the rest of the bones are contained, from above the Clavicles are those that support the torso at the height of the neck, from where they hold the sternum in front and the scapulae behind in the back, connected to the sternum by the ribs, two rows of 12 on each side, a total of 24, dedicated to protecting the lungs and the heart, and behind the kidneys.
_I: It's like a protective cage... Guarding the heart treasure.
_AM: Yes. At the level of the abdomen, only the lumbar vertebrae are supporting the body, until reaching the Sacral bone, where it attaches to the Pelvis on both sides. Here we find the extremities. From the clavicle-scapula conjunction, the humeri (of the arm) attach and from them arise the radius and ulna (forearm), where the hands, made up of carpus, metacarpus and phalanges in the fingers, attach. From the pelvis, the longest and largest bones of the body arise: the Femur, which is joined to the calves by the kneecaps that join the Tibia and the Fibula. These culminate in the tarsi, metatarsals and phalanges of the feet. Each bone is made up of an epiphysis (at the bulging ends), a metaphysis (the transformation of the bulge towards the middle extension) and a diaphysis (the space between the metaphyses). The outside of the bone is a calcified layer that gives it its hardness and strength, while inside, it is made up of porosities crossed by blood vessels, surrounding the internal cavity where the yellow marrow is located, producing blood cells and the immune system. .
_I: They are hollow columns…
_AM: More than hollow, they are fluid, since the fundamental essence of the circulating blood moves inside them. The bones are the most rigid part, constituting 12% of human weight, but at the same time, they enable its flow and flexibility.
_I: The structure allows flexibility…
_AM: Something you will understand with the joints. Each bone is connected to another through a layer of cartilage that surrounds the epiphysis and is joined by cartilage and tendons to the other bones, creating a protective layer called the synovial membrane, inside which is the synovial fluid. Estel reduces the collision between bones allowing better movement and flexibility.
_I: This is an interesting thing to understand. Bones usually seem hard, rigid to us, like what seems to us to be unbreakable patterns and structures of the internal world. And furthermore, they cause us a little fear, since being the last part of a body to disintegrate due to mineralization, the skeleton ends up being like a symbol of death, of what we fear, and we begin to refuse to understand the life that gives us…
_AM: Exactly. The skeleton's relationship with death prevents us from seeing its importance in our lives. Hidden by the muscles that give softness and humanity, the bones are the hidden face of the system that we fear to contemplate. It is the end, it is the last thing that disappears, and it reminds us in a way of what we can become. The symbolism of worship of the eternal through the skeleton has made us take the skull and bones as feared symbols, emblems of death. But when you understand the bones, you see the life that comes from them. There would be no blood without bones, there would be no immune system without bones, there would be no movement without bones, the human owes his abilities to the bones that unify his parts and keep him firm, protecting the life within, in addition to producing it.
_I: It makes us flow…
_AM: The paradox of existence. You must understand in biology that it is the cartilage and bones with their joints that have made flow a potential, that have given strength to movement. Taken to life itself, to society, you will be able to understand that structures, systems, allow there to be order, that things do not break, do not remain loose and meaningless; They give coherence to life, they are necessary, since in turn, systemic structures, traditions, cultures, societies, can flow, move, evolve through patterns. You can see in this way that flexibility, to find coherence, will always need patterns and structures, and a structure and patterns will always need flexibility to not break.
_I: So the systems we look for must be flexible, but we must look for systems, or that flexibility will end in chaos.
_AM: Therefore, pay attention to your bones, recognize them, honor them, and think in turn which are the pillars and structures that support your life, which are flexible, and which are not... And those that you consider rigid are the ones that will need a physical therapist to help you find a way to make movement strong and agile.
_I: I understand. Flexible Systems. Fluid Structures.
_AM: Learn from your structures, discover your flow systems.
_I: I am the articulation between the rigid.
_AM: I am the channel between the learners. Skeleton means “dissected, withered” (skel), it is time to redefine it, and recognize it as the key to flourishing.
_I: I Am the Skeleton of Life.