Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Osteons on cross-section of a bone. In osteology, the osteon or haversian system (/ h ə ˈ v ɜːr. ʒ ən /; named for Clopton Havers) is the fundamental functional unit of much compact bone. Osteons are roughly cylindrical structures that are typically between 0.25 mm and 0.35 mm in diameter. [1]
The cell also exhibits a reduced size endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and mitochondria, and cell processes that radiate largely towards the bone surfaces in circumferential lamellae, or towards a haversian canal and outer cement line typical of osteons in concentric lamellar bone. [5]
Haversian canals are contained within osteons, which are typically arranged along the long axis of the bone in parallel to the surface. The canals and the surrounding lamellae (8-15) form the functional unit, called a Haversian system, or osteon .
Volkmann's canals at right angles connect the osteons together. The columns are metabolically active, and as bone is reabsorbed and created the nature and location of the cells within the osteon will change. Cortical bone is covered by a periosteum on its outer surface, and an endosteum on its inner surface
It is composed of 270 bones at the time of birth, [2] but later decreases to 206: 80 bones in the axial skeleton and 126 bones in the appendicular skeleton. 172 of 206 bones are part of a pair and the remaining 34 are unpaired. [3] Many small accessory bones, such as sesamoid bones, are not included in this.
Bone canaliculi are microscopic canals between the lacunae of ossified bone.The radiating processes of the osteocytes (called filopodia) project into these canals. These cytoplasmic processes are joined together by gap junctions.
Chondrocytes do not have intercellular connections and are not coordinated in units. Cartilage is composed of a network of collagen type II held in tension by water-absorbing proteins, hydrophilic proteoglycans. [26] This is the adult skeleton in cartilaginous fishes such as sharks. It develops as the initial skeleton in more advanced classes ...
An osteoclast (from Ancient Greek ὀστέον (osteon) 'bone' and κλαστός (clastos) 'broken') is a type of bone cell that breaks down bone tissue.This function is critical in the maintenance, repair, and remodeling of bones of the vertebral skeleton.