elastic skeleton

anatomy

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June 26, 2026

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The term "elastic skeleton" refers to a type of skeletal structure that bends rather than changes shape when a muscle contracts. Muscle relaxation occurs either through an opposing muscle contracting or the skeleton returning to its original position. Examples include the tentacles of jellyfish, the mesoglea layer in jellyfish, clam hinges, and the notochord in chordates. The high-pressure coelom within the rigid yet flexible cuticle of nematodes also functions like an elastic skeleton. In larger mammals, elastic fibers are extensively used within musculature. Elasticity in the surface cuticle aids recovery movements in roundworms and arthropods, and elastic structures at the base of some insect wings store and release energy, contributing to rapid wingbeats.12

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Types of skeletons and their distribution
Elastic skeletons do not change shape but simply bend when a muscle contracts. Muscle relaxation results either from a muscle contracting in the opposite direction to its antagonist or from the skeleton resuming its original position. The tentacles of many hydrozoan coelenterates, the mesoglea of…
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Elastic skeletons do not change shape but simply bend when a muscle contracts. Muscle relaxation results either from a muscle contracting in the opposite direction to its antagonist or from the skeleton resuming its original position. The tentacles of many hydrozoan coelenterates, the mesoglea of…
Read More