Endoskeleton

An endoskeleton (from Ancient Greek ἔνδον (éndon), meaning "inside", and σκελετός (skeletós), meaning "skeleton") is a structural frame (skeleton) — usually composed of mineralized tissue — on the inside of an animal, overlaid by soft tissues. Endoskeletons serve as structural support against gravity and mechanical loads, and provide anchoring attachment sites for skeletal muscles to transmit force and allow movements and locomotion. Vertebrates and the closely related cephalochordates are the predominant animal clade with endoskeletons (made of mostly bone and sometimes cartilage, as well as notochordal glycoprotein and collagen fibers), although invertebrates such as sponges also have evolved a form of "rebar" endoskeletons made of diffuse meshworks of calcite/silica structural elements called spicules, and echinoderms have a dermal calcite endoskeleton known as ossicles. Some coleoid cephalopods (squids and cuttlefish) have an internalized vestigial aragonite/calcite-chitin shell known as gladius or cuttlebone; these can serve as muscle attachments, but their main function is often to maintain buoyancy rather than to give structural support, and their body shape is largely maintained by their hydroskeleton.…

]] An endoskeleton (from Ancient Greek ἔνδον (éndon), meaning "inside", and σκελετός (skeletós), meaning "skeleton") is a structural frame (skeleton) — usually composed of mineralized tissue — on the inside of an animal, overlaid by soft tissues. Endoskeletons serve as structural support against gravity and mechanical loads, and provide anchoring attachment sites for skeletal muscles to transmit force and allow movements and locomotion. Vertebrates and the closely related cephalochordates are the predominant animal clade with endoskeletons (made of mostly bone and sometimes cartilage, as well as notochordal glycoprotein and collagen fibers), although invertebrates such as sponges also have evolved a form of "rebar" endoskeletons made of diffuse meshworks of calcite/silica structural elements called spicules, and echinoderms have a dermal calcite endoskeleton known as ossicles. Some coleoid cephalopods (squids and cuttlefish) have an internalized vestigial aragonite/calcite-chitin shell known as gladius or cuttlebone; these can serve as muscle attachments, but their main function is often to maintain buoyancy rather than to give structural support, and their body shape is largely maintained by their hydroskeleton. Compared to the exoskeletons of many invertebrates, endoskeletons allow much larger overall body sizes for the same skeletal mass, as most soft tissues and organs are positioned outside the skeleton rather than within it, thus unrestricted by the volume and internal capacity of the skeleton itself. Being more centralized in structure also means more compact volume, making it easier for the circulatory system to perfuse and oxygenate, as well as higher tissue density against stress. The external nature of muscle attachments also allows thicker and more diverse muscle architectures, as well as more versatile range of motions. ==Overview== A true endoskeleton is derived from mesodermal tissue. In three phyla of animals, Chordata (chordates), Echinodermata (echinoderms) and Porifera (sponges), endoskeletons of various complexity are found. An endoskeleton may function purely for structural support (as in the case of Porifera), but often also serves as an attachment site for muscles and a mechanism for transmitting muscular forces as in chordates and echinoderms, which provides a means of locomotion. Compared to the exoskeleton structure in many invertebrates (particularly panarthropods), the endoskeleton has several advantages: The capacity for larger body sizes under the same skeletal mass, as the endoskeleton has a "flesh-over-bone" construct rather than a "flesh-in-bone" one as in exoskeletons. This means that the body's overall volume is not restricted by the endoskeleton itself, but by the weight of soft tissues that can be attached and supported by it, while the capacity of an exoskeleton's internal cavity restricts how much organs and tissues can be supported. Because of skeletal rigidity, many invertebrates have to repeatedly moult (ecdysis) during the juvenile stages of life to grow bigger. Endoskeletons have a more concentrated layout due to its internalized nature, so a greater proportion of skeletal tissue can be recruited to handle mechanical loads. In contrast, exoskeletons are more "spread thin" over the exterior, meaning that when stress is applied to one area of the body, most of the remaining exoskeleton often just plays "dead weight". Increasing the skeletal strength of a local area often means having to increase the cuticle thickness and density of an entire part of the body, which increase the overall weight significantly, especially with larger body sizes. Being internal means the skeletal tissue can be perfused and maintained from both inside (via nutrient arteries of the marrow) and outside (via periosteal arterioles). The tissue catchment volume that the circulatory system is required to cover is also smaller than that of exoskeletons, making it easier to maintain skeletal health. Endoskeletons are typically cushioned from trauma by the overlying soft tissues, while exoskeletons are directly exposed to external insults. Having other tissues attached outside the skeleton means that endoskeletons can have a more diverse muscular layouts as well as bigger physiological cross-sectional area, which translates to greater contractile strength and adaptability. Having external muscles also means the potential for greater leverage as the muscle can attach further down from a joint (comparatively, exoskeletal muscles cannot attach farther than the internal diameter of the corresponding joint cavity), although the muscles (especially flexors) themselves can sometimes physically hinder the joint's range of motion. === Sponges=== The poriferan "skeleton" consists of mesh-like network of microscopic spicules. The soft connective tissues of sponges are composed of gelatinous mesohyl reinforced by fibrous spongin, forming a composite matrix that has decent tensile strength but severely lacks the rigidity needed to resist deformation from ocean currents. The spicules act as structural elements that add much needed compressive and shear strengths that help maintain the sponge's shape (which is needed to ensure optimal filter feeding), much like the aggregates and rebar stirrups within reinforced concrete. Sponges can have spicules made of calcium carbonate (calcite or aragonite) or more commonly silica, which separate sponges into two main clades, calcareous sponges (class Calcarea) and siliceous sponges, the latter being the dominant extant clade with two classes Demospongiae (common sponges) and Hexactinellida (glass sponges). There are however species (such as bath sponge and lake sponge) that have no or severely reduced spicules, which gives them an overall soft "spongy" structure. Deep-sea demosponges from the family Cladorhizidae have evolved a unique carnivorous survival strategy, by having tiny grappling hook-like spicules (microscleres) that extends outwards like burs to snag and trap passing-by aquatic animals such as small fish and crustaceans. As sponges don't have dedicated digestive systems, these predatory sponges rely on symbiotic organisms such as scale worms and microbes to help digest the seized prey and release nutrients that can then be absorbed by the sponges' cells. ==See also== Exoskeleton Hydrostatic skeleton ==References==

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