Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
All bones possess larger or smaller foramina (openings) for the entrance of blood-vessels; these are known as the nutrient foramina, and are particularly large in the shafts of the larger long bones, where they lead into a nutrient canal, which extends into the medullary cavity. The nutrient canal (foramen) is directed away from the growing end ...
The nutrient artery (arteria nutricia, or central artery), usually accompanied by one or two nutrient veins, enters the bone through the nutrient foramen, runs obliquely through the cortex, sends branches upward and downward to the bone marrow, which ramify in the endosteum–the vascular membrane lining the medullary cavity–and give twigs to the adjoining canals.
The Haversian canal contains the bone's blood supplies. The boundary of an osteon is the cement line. Each Haversian canal is surrounded by varying number (5-20) of concentrically arranged lamellae of bone matrix. Near the surface of the compact bone, the lamellae are arranged parallel to the surface; these are called circumferential lamellae.
A short bone is one that is cube-like in shape, being approximately equal in length, width, and thickness. The only short bones in the human skeleton are in the carpals of the wrists and the tarsals of the ankles. Short bones provide stability and support as well as some limited motion. [1]
These bones are located just beyond the wrist and serve as a link to the phalanges, or finger bones, at the end of the limbs. In the lower body, the femur is a prominent bone positioned between the hip and knee. As the longest bone in the human body, it plays a pivotal role in forming the upper part of the knee joint.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Located in the main shaft of a long bone (consisting mostly of compact bone), the medullary cavity has walls composed of spongy bone (cancellous bone) and is lined with a thin, vascular membrane . [1] [2] This area is involved in the formation of red blood cells and white blood cells, and the calcium supply for bird eggshells. The area has been ...