#osteocyte

Human Skull, Temporal Bones, & a Stylized Osteocyte

Medium: mixed media

Week Seven: Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Reading week was last week and marked the halfway point of the semester and also a slight change in direction of lecture content. Up until now, lectures have been focused on different things that effect biological anthropology but this second half of the semester has switched over to focus more on the different subfields of biological anthropology.

This week we focused in on the subfield of human osteology and paleopathology, basically the study of the human skeleton. We first talked about the osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes that make up bone cells and their roles; osteoblasts making new bone and repairing the old, osteoclasts breaking down of old bone, and osteocytes being inactive osteoblasts that are trapped in the bone matrix. We then went on to talk about what exactly bones do aside from hold humans and animals together, this was separated into three subcategories; mechanical, synthesizing and metabolic. Mechanically bones protect organs and allow for tissue attachment, bones also produce red and white blood cells as well as platelets, and they are also where minerals, calcium, and good fats get stored.

Backscattered electron scanning electron microscope image showing osteoclast resorption of trabecular bone (roughened surfaces). The osteocyte lacunae and canaliculi are also seen within the trabeculae.

In an Haversian Space no one can hear you scream...

This is a section through part of a bone in the foot.

The cramped living conditions for the blood vessels that run through the narrow Haversian canals within this region of compact bone are clearly enough to make them claustrophobic!

But when your job is to supply blood to osteocytes within the bone itself, then I guess that’s just part and tarsal of the job.

Painted Into A Corner

A Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) of an Osteocyte (center) in bone tissue. An Osteocyte is actually another name for an Osteoblast that has become encased in the bone matrix it secreted. 

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF OSTEOBLASTS

These cells produce osteoid, the organic bone matrix that is a mass of collagen fibers and glycoprotein cement. As soon as osteoid is formed, calcium salts inside it crystallize to form hard, mineralized bone. 

In mature bone, Osteocytes reside inside spaces called lacunae, where they can live as long as the organism itself. The adult human body has about 42 billion osteocytes.

BUY AN OSTEOBLAST PRINT, PILLOW, OR PHONE CASE

Ground Bone Prep