Blood Supply of Bone (****Short note)

Introduction:
Although bone is not an actively growing tissue in adults, it does need a constant blood supply
to stay alive.
In fact, the supply of blood to long bones is profuse and derived from a number of sources that
are explained with detail in the lines below.

Nutrient artery:
This artery enters the shaft through the nutrient foramen and runs obliquely through the
cortex. Direction of the nutrient foramen is away from the growing end of the bone.
In the medullary cavity this artery divides into ascending and descending branches.
Each one of these two branches divides into parallel channels that head towards the respective
end of the bone.
At the place of metaphyses in case of adult bones these branches anastomose with epiphyseal,
metaphyseal and periosteal arteries.
Ojvensha E learning Resources-Prepared by Dr.B.B.Gosai
The nutrient artery in this way nourishes the whole medullary cavity and inner 2/3 of the
cortex as well as metaphyses.

Periosteal arteries:

Periosteal arteries are the arteries of periosteum being especially numerous beneath the
muscular and ligamentous attachment.
Beneath the periosteum they divide into branches and thereby entering the Volkmann’s canals
to supply the outer one third (1/3) portion of the cortex.
Remember that the inner 2/3 of the cortex was supplied by the nutrient artery discussed above.
Epiphyseal arteries:

These are the arteries of epiphyses and are derived from the peri-articular vascular arcades
found on the non-articular bony surfaces.
This area also has numerous foramina out of which only few are the entrance points of these
arteries while the remaining are the venous exits.
Before fusion of epiphysis and metaphysic these arteries are end artery.
Metaphyseal arteries:

These arteries are derived from the neighboring systemic vessels.

These arteries directly go into the metaphyses and reinforce the metaphyseal branches of the
primary nutrient artery.
Before fusion of epiphysis with metaphysis these arteries for hair pin bends and hence blood
flow becomes slow which is cause of lodgment of bacteria and leads to Osteomylitis in
children.

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Ojvensha E learning Resources-Prepared by Dr.B.B.Gosai