The musculoskeletal system's primary functions include supporting the body, allowing motion, and protecting vital organs.

Complex issues and injuries involving the musculoskeletal system are usually handled by a physiatrist (specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation) or an orthopaedic surgeon.

The human skeleton is composed of both fused and individual bones supported by ligaments, tendons, muscles and cartilage.

From the red marrow, erythrocytes, platelets, and leukocytes migrate to the blood to do their special tasks.

The importance of this storage "device" helps to regulate mineral balance in the bloodstream.

Skeletal and cardiac muscles have striations that are visible under a microscope due to the components within their cells.

Skeletal muscles are attached to bones and arranged in opposing groups around joints.

These neurotransmitters diffuse across the synapse and bind to specific receptor sites on the cell membrane of the muscle fiber.

As muscles contract, tendons transmit the forces to the relatively rigid bones, pulling on them and causing movement.

Tendons can stretch substantially, allowing them to function as springs during locomotion, thereby saving energy.

[13] A bursa is a small fluid-filled sac made of white fibrous tissue and lined with synovial membrane.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system mostly encompass functional disorders or motion discrepancies; the level of impairment depends specifically on the problem and its severity.

In a study of hospitalizations in the United States, the most common inpatient OR procedures in 2012 involved the musculoskeletal system: knee arthroplasty, laminectomy, hip replacement, and spinal fusion.

Disorders of muscles from another body system can bring about irregularities such as: impairment of ocular motion and control, respiratory dysfunction, and bladder malfunction.

Complete paralysis, paresis, or ataxia may be caused by primary muscular dysfunctions of infectious or toxic origin; however, the primary disorder is usually related to the nervous system, with the muscular system acting as the effector organ, an organ capable of responding to a stimulus, especially a nerve impulse.

It is complex, multi-factorial, and likely to be also represented by a series of sub-groups driven by pain varying from peripheral or central nervous system,[18] altered laxity/stiffness of muscles,[19] laxity to injury of tendinous/ligamentous structures[20] to maladaptive body mechanics.