Hardest Part of the Human Body

Hardest part of the human body is the enamel. In humans, this substance is around 2.5 mm at its thickest part and its colour varies often from a light yellow to a greyish white. A large amount of minerals in enamel not only accounts for its strength, but also for its brittleness. 

Also Read: Types of Teeth in Humans 

Key Terms: Enamel, Tooth, Bones, Femur, Human Body, Muscles, Ligaments, Tendons, Tissues, Fibres, Minerals

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What is Enamel?

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Enamel is 96% densely packed minerals and is formed on the tooth while the tooth is developing within the gum before it erupts into the mouth. It normally makes up the visible part of the tooth, covering the crown.

• Tooth enamel is one of the major tissues that make up the tooth in humans, many animals, and even some species of fish. 
• The enamel is the second hardest compound in the world second only to diamonds.
• Tooth enamel is highly mineralized as it consists primarily of calcium and phosphate mineral crystals. 
• It does not contain collagen, as found in other hard tissues such as dentin and bone, but it does contain two unique classes of proteins: amelogenins and enamelins which are believed to aid in the development of the enamel by serving as a framework for minerals to form on.

Human Tooth

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Strength of Bones

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Bones are extremely tough and considered to be stronger than concrete. They are often assumed to be the hardest substance in the human body. The strongest bones in our body are considered to be the jawbone and the femur bone. Most of the bone structure is made up of collagen and a mineral called calcium phosphate.

There are two types of bone tissues:

• Cortical bone tissue: a dense tissue, that makes up the outer layers of our bones.
• Trabecular bone tissue: a spongy, honeycomb-like material that makes up our inner bones.

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Other Strong Body Parts

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Human body has many other incredibly strong parts such as muscles, ligaments and tendons. They all are incredibly strong and have varying degrees of elasticity but aren’t particularly hard as the enamel. A brief description of each of them is given below.

• Muscles

Muscles are made of thousands of highly flexible fibres that help our bones to move. These fibres are bound together tightly in groups, which is what gives the muscles their strength. Muscle fibres consist of a single muscle cell and help to control the physical forces within the body. When grouped together, they facilitate the organized movement of limbs. 

• Ligaments

Ligaments are bands of tough elastic tissue around joints that connect bone to bone and give them support. These are around our knees, ankles, elbows, shoulders, and other joints. 

Ligaments are like ropes that keep our muscles from over-extending their reach.

• Tendons 

Tendons are made of connective collagen fibres and connect our muscles to the bones. They are more flexible than the ligaments and contain fewer blood vessels than muscles. Tendons are located all over our body and work as levers to move our bones as our muscles contract and expand.

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Things to Remember

• Enamel present on our teeth is the hardest substance in the human body.
• 96 per cent of enamel is made up of minerals which gives it incredible strength. 
• After diamonds, the enamel is the hardest compound in the world.
• The jawbone and the femur bone are considered the strongest bones in the human body.
• There are two types of bone tissues: cortical bone tissues and trabecular bone tissues.