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Histology of compact bone showing osteon. Each osteon consists of concentric layers, or lamellae, of compact bone tissue that surround a central canal, the Haversian canal. The Haversian canal contains the bone's blood supplies. The boundary of an osteon is the cement line.
Diagram of a typical long bone showing both cortical (compact) and cancellous (spongy) bone. Haversian canals [i] (sometimes canals of Havers, osteonic canals or central canals) are a series of microscopic tubes in the outermost region of bone called cortical bone. They allow blood vessels and nerves to travel through them to supply the osteocytes.
In an ordinary microscopic section, viewed by transmitted light, they appear as fusiform opaque spots. Each lacuna is occupied during life by a branched cell, termed an osteocyte, bone-cell or bone-corpuscle. Lacunae are connected to one another by small canals called canaliculi. A lacuna never contains more than one osteocyte.
The hard outer layer of bones is composed of cortical bone, which is also called compact bone as it is much denser than cancellous bone. It forms the hard exterior (cortex) of bones. The cortical bone gives bone its smooth, white, and solid appearance, and accounts for 80% of the total bone mass of an adult human skeleton. [10]
This is covered by a membrane of connective tissue called the periosteum. Beneath the cortical bone layer is a layer of spongy cancellous bone. Inside this is the medullary cavity which has an inner core of bone marrow, it contains nutrients and help in formation of cells, made up of yellow marrow in the adult and red marrow in the child.
The outer surface of a bone is lined by a thin layer of connective tissue that is very similar in morphology and function to endosteum. It is called the periosteum , or the periosteal surface. During bone growth , the width of the bone increases as osteoblasts lay new bone tissue at the periosteum.
Diameter of canaliculi in human bone is approximately 200 to 900 nm. [1] In bovine tibia diameter of canaliculi was found to vary from 155 to 844 nm (average 426 nm). [ 2 ] In mice humeri it varies from 80 to 710 nm (average 259 nm), while diameter of osteocytic processes varies from 50 to 410 nm (average 104 nm).
Different types of bone markings and features. A condyle is the round prominence at the end of a bone, most often part of a joint – an articulation with another bone. [2] The epicondyle refers to a projection near a condyle, particularly the medial epicondyle of the humerus. [3] These terms derive from Greek. [4] [a]