Functions
One of the main functions of bones is to give the body this, allowing it to maintain shape and support muscles.
What is support?
What is a bone?
These are the bone-forming cells responsible for secreting new bone matrix.
What are osteoblasts?
The first step in intramembranous ossification is the aggregation of these stem cells into clusters.
What are mesenchymal cells?
What type of cartilage acts as the model or “blueprint” for bones formed through endochondral ossification?
What is hyaline cartilage?
Bone formation is crucial for doing this for these vital organs, like the skull for the brain and the rib cage for the heart and lungs.
What is protection?
The joints in your skull that do not move are called these.
What are immovable joints or sutures?
Large multinucleated cells that break down bone during remodeling.
What are osteoclasts?
The flat bones of your skull, face, and clavicle are created through this ossification process.
What is intramembranous ossification?
In the growth plate, this is the zone where chondrocytes are dividing rapidly, causing bones to lengthen like they’re in a race!
What is the zone of proliferation (proliferating cartilage zone)?
As bones form and remodel, they store and release this mineral essential for muscle contraction and nerve function.
What is calcium?
The shoulder and hip are examples of this type of freely movable joint that allows movement in almost any direction.
What is ball-and-socket joint?
The protective covering of the bone.
What is periosteum?
When osteoblasts get trapped in the matrix they produce, they mature into these cells.
What are osteocytes?
This structure invades the cartilage model, bringing in blood vessels and bone-forming cells the real “construction crew” of bone development.
What is the periosteal bud?
This soft tissue inside bones produces blood cells.
What is bone marrow?
The elbow and knee are examples of this joint type that allows movement in only one plane like a door.
What is a hinge joint?
The cartilage region in a growing bone where lengthwise growth occurs.
What is the epiphyseal plate?
Intramembranous ossification begins when mesenchymal cells cluster together to form these first tiny spots of bone formation.
What are ossification centers?
These two “centers” mark where bone tissue first forms one in the shaft and one in the ends of developing long bones.
What are the primary and secondary ossification centers?
Through the process of remodeling, bone formation helps maintain the internal balance of minerals like calcium and phosphate.
What is homeostasis or mineral balance?
The fluid that lubricates and nourishes cartilage inside synovial joints is called this.
What is synovial fluid?
The lattice like structures inside spongy bone where new bone tissue forms.
What are trabeculae?
As the bone matrix forms and trabeculae fuse, this type of bone develops first before being remodeled into compact bone.
What is spongy (woven) bone?
Right before bone replaces cartilage, these cells enlarge, release enzymes, and then die leaving behind the future marrow spaces.
What are hypertrophic chondrocytes?