1. Dissecting a Leg
We can learn about our skeletal system by looking at the skeletal system of other animals.

2. The human leg is very much like the leg of a chicken.
Both have a large thigh bone, a knee joint, and two shin bones.

3. Just like your leg, the chicken leg has:
Skin
Bone
Muscle
Cartilage
Fat

4. Pull the skin back and look for:
Blood vessels in the skin
Cartilage around the bone
Joint
Muscle
Fat

5. Use your scissors to cut away some of the meat so you can find:
Cartilage protecting the end of the bone
Tendons that hold the muscle to the bone
Different shaped muscle
Lots of fat

6. Cut away the rest of the muscle so you can see the joint and cartilage.
The joint bends just like a human knee.
Look at the cartilage protecting the bone.

7. This leg has a hinge joint
This leg has a hinge joint. It allows the joint to move in one direction only.
Look at how the two parts fit together so that the joint can bend.
Ligaments hold bone to bone.
Cartilage keeps bones from touching each other.

8. Break the bone to see the marrow.
Marrow is red and jelly-like.
Marrow makes red blood cells that carry food and oxygen to all the cells of our body, and platelets that allow our blood to clot.

9. When you eat a chicken leg, remember what you have learned about your skeletal system.
cartilage
bone
joint
tendon
marrow
ligament
muscle