Definition
noun, plural: bone tissues
A mineralized connective tissue from which bones are made.
Supplement
The bone tissue is a type of connective tissue of vertebrates. (Other types of connective tissues are cartilage, loose, and dense connective tissues.) Bone tissues are the type of connective tissue that is hardened or become rigid due to mineralization. The bone tissue forms the skeleton of the vertebrates.
The bone tissue is comprised of the bone matrix as well as the bone cells. The bone matrix is the extracellular matrix of the bone. It is comprised of organic and inorganic substances. The organic component of the bone matrix includes the collagen and ground substance whereas the inorganic component is the inorganic bone salts, mainly hydroxyapatite. Bone tissues consist of collagen fibers and ground substance containing calcium, magnesium, and phosphate ions that chemically combine and harden into a mineral, hydroxyapatite. The combination of hard mineral and flexible collagen makes bone harder than cartilage without being brittle.
The cellular elements of the bone include osteoblasts, osteocytes, and osteoclasts. The osteoblasts are involved in the formation and mineralization of bone tissues. The osteocytes are osteoblasts that migrated into and become trapped by the surrounding matrix. The osteoclasts are involved in the bone resorption.
There are two types of bone tissues based on the arrangement of their structure: (1) cortical bone and (2) cancellous bone.
Also called:
- osseous tissue
Compare:
See also:
