Osteoclast

Related terms

Cortical (Compact) Bone

The dense outer shell of long bones and the tables of flat bones. Approximately 80% of skeletal mass. High mineral density (65-70%...

Epiphyseal Growth Plate (Physis)

The cartilaginous zone between the epiphysis and metaphysis where endochondral ossification occurs during growth. Closes (fuses) at puberty under the influence of...

Haversian System (Secondary Osteon)

The basic structural unit of mature cortical bone: a cylinder of 4-20 concentric lamellar rings around a central Haversian canal carrying blood...

Interstitial Lamellae

The angular remnants of older osteons left behind after a BMU has partially resorbed them. Their relative area decreases with age as...

Kerley Method

A histological age estimation method published by Ellis Kerley in 1965, based on counting secondary osteons, osteon fragments, circumferential lamellar bone, and...

Lacuna

A small lens-shaped cavity within bone lamellae that houses an osteocyte cell body. Lacunae are connected by canaliculi radiating toward the Haversian...

Plexiform Bone

A microstructural pattern found in the cortical bone of large rapid-growth mammals (bovids, horses, deer) characterised by alternating layers of woven bone...

Trabecular (Cancellous) Bone

The porous, lattice-like interior bone occupying epiphyses, metaphyses, and flat bones. High surface area and metabolic activity but rapidly lost in taphonomic...

Wolff's Law

The principle that bone is deposited and resorbed in response to mechanical loading history. Cortical thickness and trabecular orientation follow principal stress...

Explained in

• Bone Biology and the Haversian BaselineThe large, multinucleated bone-resorbing cell responsible for excavating the resorption tunnel in a BMU. Activated by the RANKL/OPG cytokine axis. Creates the...