Bone Tissue Vocabulary

Function of the Bones: Support; protection; movement; storage; & blood cell formation.

1. Articular Cartilage: where long bones articulate w/one another @ epiphyseal surfaces, the bony
surfaces are covered w/hyaline cartilage rather than periosteum.

2. Bone Deposit: occur at sites of bone injury or where added bone strength is required.

3. Bone Reabsorption: is accomplished by osteoclasts, which secrete lysosomal & perhaps other catabolic
enzymes onto the free bone surface. The osteoclasts may also phagocytize the matrix.

4. Comminuted Fracture: bone fragments into many pieces. Particularly common in the aged, whose
bones are more brittle.

5. Compact Bone: is dense & looks sooth & homogeneous. It’s riddled w/canals & passageways serving as
conduits for nerves, blood vessels, & lymphatic vessels.

6. Compound Fracture: broken ends of the bone protrude through soft tissue & the skin. More serious
than a simple Fx. & may result in a severe bone infection (osteomyelitis) requiring massive doses of
antibiotics. Sometimes called an open Fx.

7. Compression Fracture: Bone is crushed. Common in porous bones ex. Osteoporotic bones.

8. Condyle: boney marking that’s a rounded articular projection that helps to form a joint.

9. Crest (boney crest): boney marking that’s a narrow ridge of one; usually prominent that is a site of
muscle attachment.

10. Depressed Fracture: broken bone portion is pressed inward. Typical of skull fracture.

11. Diaphysis: the elongated shaft of a long bone

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12. Endochondral Ossification: uses hyaline cartilage “bones” as models, or patterns, for bone
construction. Common in long & short bones. (endo=within; chondro=cartilage) Steps include 1 formation
of a bone collar around the hyaline cartilage model; 2 cavitation of the hyaline cartilage shaft; 3 invasion of
internal cavities by the periosteal bud & spongy bone formation; 4 formation of the medullary cavity; 5
ossification of the epiphyses.

13. Endosteum: Lines the cedullary cavity of spongy bones.

14.Epicondyle: boney marking that’s a raised area on or above a condyle that is a site of muscle
attachment.

15. Epiphysis: the ends of a long bone, attached to the shaft.

16. Facet (boney facet): boney marking that’s a smooth, nearly flat articular surface that helps to form a
joint.
17. Fissure: boney marking that’s a narrow, slitlike opening that allows blood vessels & nerves to pass.

18. Flat Bones: are thin, flattened, & usually curved bones. They have 2 roughly parallel compact bone
surfaces, w/ a layer of spongy bone b/w them.

19. Foramen: boney marking that’s a round or oval opening through a bone that blood vessels & nerves
can pass through.

20. Fossa: boney marking that’s a shallow, basinlike depression in a bone, often serving as an articular
surface that blood vessels & nerves can pass through.

21. Greenstick Fracture: bone breaks incompletely, much in the way a green twig breaks. Common in
children, whose bones have relatively more organic matrix & are more flexible then those of adults.

22. Groove (boney groove): boney marking that’s a furrow that blood vessels & nerves can pass through.

23. Haversian System: (also called osteon) is the structural unit of compact bone & consists mostly of hard
bone matrix arranged in concentric rings or lamellae, around a central canal, the haversian canal, oriented
along the long axis of the bone.

24. Head (boney head): boney marking that’s a bony expansion carried on a narrow neck that help to
form joints.

25. Hematoma: blood filled swelling or bloodclot.

26. Impacted Fracture: broken bone ends are forced into each other. Commonly occurs when 1 falls &
attempts to break the fall w/outstretched arms; also common in hip Fx.

27. Intramembranous Ossification: results in the formation of flat bones & some irregular bones
including bone sof the skull & the clavicles. Steps include: 1. formation of spongy bone w/in the fibrous
membrane; 2 formation of the periosteum; 3 formation of compact bone plates.

28. Irregular Bones: consist mainly of spongy bone enclosed by thin layers of compact bone. Bones that
do not fit in one of the other bone categories are called irregular & include some skull bones, vertebrae, &
hip bones.

29. Lamellae: concentric rings in the haversian system.

30. Line (boney line): boney marking that’s a narrow ridge of bone; less prominent than a crest that is a
site of muscle attachment.

31. Long Bones: are considerably longer than they are wide. A long bone consists of a shaft plus 2 heads.
It is constructed primarily of compact bone, but may contain considerable amounts of spongy bone. Include
all bones of the limbs except the patella, & those of the wrist, & ankle. (exception to this is metacarpals &
metatarsals = long bones).
32. Meatus: boney marking that’s a canal-like passageway that allows blood vessels & nerves to pass.

33. Medullary Cavity: is the center space or cavity of the shaft of a bone & in adults contains fat or yellow
marrow & is also called the yellow bone marrow.

34. Osteoblasts: bone forming cells

35. Osteoclasts: bone destroying cells. They are large multinucleated cells of uncertain origin.

36. Osteocytes:
37. Osteogenesis:: the process of bone formation.
38. Osteomalacia:
39. Osteon: the structural & functional unit of compact bone; also called a haversian system.
40. Osteoporosis:
41. Paget’s Disease:
42. Periosteum: dense connective tusse covering a bone.
43. Ramus: boney marking that’s an armlike bar of bone. Projection that help to form joint.
44. Red Marrow:
45. Rickets:
46. Sesmoid bone:
47. Short Bones:
48. Simple Fractue: bone breaks cleanly, bot doees not penetrate the skin. Sometimes called a closed Fx.
49. Sinus (boney sinus): boney marking that’s a cavity w/in a bone, filled w/air & lined w/mucous
membrane that allows blood vessels & nerves to pass.
50. Spine (boney spine): boney marking that’s a sharp, slender, often pointed projection that is a site of
muscle attachment.
51. Spiral Fracture: Ragged break occurs when excessive twisting forces are applied to a bone. Common
in sports Fx.

52. Spongy or Cancellous Bone: is composed of small needlelike or flat pieces of bone called trabeculae
& has lots of open space. Looks poorly organized but actually the trabeculae revealse where stress is exerted
on the bone & helps the bone resis the stress as much as possible.

53. Trabeculae: literally means little beams

54. Trochanter: boney marking that’s a very large, blunt, irregularly-shaped process that is a site of muscle
attachment. The only ex. Are on the femur.

55. Tubercle: boney marking that’s a small rounded projection or process that is a site of muscle
attachment.

56. Tuberosity: boney marking that’s a large rounded projection; may be roughened that is a site of muscle
attachment.

57. Wolff’s Law: a bone grows or remodels in response to the forces or stresses placed on it.