Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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]
Osteocytes do not entirely fill up the canaliculi. The remaining space is known as the periosteocytic space, which is filled with periosteocytic fluid. This fluid contains substances too large to be transported through the gap junctions that connect the osteocytes. In cartilage, the lacunae and hence, the chondrocytes, are isolated from each ...
This constitutes the so-called capsule of the space. Each lacuna is generally occupied by a single cell, but during the division of the cells, it may contain two, four, or eight cells. Lacunae are found between narrow sheets of calcified matrix that are known as lamellae ( / l ə ˈ m ɛ l i / lə- MEL -ee ).
The spaces the cell body of osteocytes occupy within the mineralized collagen type I matrix are known as lacunae, while the osteocyte cell processes occupy channels called canaliculi. The many processes of osteocytes reach out to meet osteoblasts, osteoclasts, bone lining cells, and other osteocytes probably for the purposes of communication. [26]
Active transport is used to move most substances between the blood vessels and the osteocytes. [1] 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.
Endochondral ossification is responsible for development of most bones including long and short bones, [4] the bones of the axial (ribs and vertebrae) and the appendicular skeleton (e.g. upper and lower limbs), [5] the bones of the skull base (including the ethmoid and sphenoid bones) [6] and the medial end of the clavicle. [7]
Osteoclasts lie in small cavities called Howship's lacunae, formed from the digestion of the underlying bone. The sealing zone is the attachment of the osteoclast's plasma membrane to the underlying bone. Sealing zones are bounded by belts of specialized adhesion structures called podosomes.
Cartilage gives the structures a definite but pliable form, making such structures and joints strong, but with limited mobility and flexibility. [2] [3] Cartilage has no nerves. [2] Hyaline cartilage also forms the temporary embryonic skeleton, which is gradually replaced by bone, and the skeleton of elasmobranch fish. [citation needed]