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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).
Although osteocytes are relatively inert cells, they are capable of molecular synthesis and modification, as well as transmission of signals over long distances, in a way similar to the nervous system. [6] They are the most common cell type in bone (31,900 per cubic millimeter in bovine bone to 93,200 per cubic millimeter in rat bone). [6]
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. Osteocytes do not entirely fill up the canaliculi.
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.
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. Each Haversian canal is surrounded by varying number (5-20) of concentrically arranged lamellae of bone matrix.
The initiation of endochondral ossification starts by proliferation and condensation of mesenchymal cells in the area where the bone will eventually be formed. Subsequently, these mesenchymal progenitor cells differentiate into chondroblasts, which actively synthesize cartilage matrix components.
Bone tissue (osseous tissue), which is also called bone in the uncountable sense of that word, is hard tissue, a type of specialised connective tissue. It has a honeycomb-like matrix internally, which helps to give the bone rigidity. Bone tissue is made up of different types of bone cells.
The primary cells of cartilage are chondrocytes, which are in a matrix of fibrous tissue, proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans. [2] [3] As cartilage does not have lymph glands or blood vessels, the movements of solutes, including nutrients, occur via diffusion within the fluid compartments contiguous with adjacent tissues. [2]