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The Haversian canals surround blood vessels and nerve cells throughout bones and communicate with osteocytes (contained in spaces within the dense bone matrix called lacunae) through connections called canaliculi. This unique arrangement is conducive to mineral salt deposits and storage which gives bone tissue its strength.
Diagram of a typical long bone showing both compact (cortical) and cancellous (spongy) bone. 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.
The matrix is hardened by the binding of inorganic mineral salt, calcium phosphate, in a chemical arrangement known as bone mineral, a form of calcium apatite. [8] [9] It is the mineralization that gives bones rigidity. Bone is actively constructed and remodeled throughout life by specialized bone cells known as osteoblasts and osteoclasts.
The cell body varies in size from 5–20 micrometers in diameter and contain 40–60 cell processes per cell, [4] with a cell to cell distance between 20–30 micrometers. [3] A mature osteocyte contains a single nucleus that is located toward the vascular side and has one or two nucleoli and a membrane. [ 5 ]
An ambitious project launched in 2016 has made a dent in one of biology’s greatest challenges — with more than 3,600 researchers profiling more than 100 million cells.
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 axial skeleton (80 bones) is formed by the vertebral column (32–34 bones; the number of the vertebrae differs from human to human as the lower 2 parts, sacral and coccygeal bone may vary in length), a part of the rib cage (12 pairs of ribs and the sternum), and the skull (22 bones and 7 associated bones).
Intra-cellular features are characteristic of a synthetically active cell. The cell density of full-thickness, human, adult, femoral condyle cartilage is maintained at 14.5 (±3.0) × 10 3 cells/ mm 2 from age 20 to 30 years. Although chondrocyte senescence occurs with aging, mitotic figures are not seen in normal adult articular cartilage.