Abstract
Your body has many different parts and organs, which will be discussed in due time; but for some purposes it is preferable to think of it as a whole, or to let the discussion take a more general course. The general shape and posture of your body, which more than anything else distinguish it from the body of a lower animal, depend chiefly on its framework, commonly called the skeleton. when you read or hear this word, it naturally makes you think of bones, but the living skeleton includes cartilage and ligaments also. Cartilage is somewhat like bone, but not really so hard. That part of meat which we call "gristle" is really one kind of cartilage. Ligaments are sheets or cord so tough, fibrous material. they bend, but do not stretch unless injured or overloaded. The fascinating story of bone growth has been told elsewhere, and will not be repeated here; but the peculiar fitness of each part of the skeleton for its own work is a subject no less interesting.