osteocyte /os·teo·cyte/ (os´te-o-sīt″) an osteoblast that has become embedded within the bone matrix, occupying a bone lacuna and sending, through the canaliculi, slender cytoplasmic processes that make contact with processes of other osteocytes.
osteocyte
osteocyte (os´tēōsīt),
os·te·o·cyte ( s t - -s t )n. A branched cell embedded in the matrix of bone tissue. |
osteocyte
[os′tē·əsīt]
Etymology: Gk, osteon + kytos, cell
a bone cell; a mature osteoblast that has become embedded in the bone matrix. It occupies a small cavity and sends out protoplasmic projections that anastomose with those of other osteocytes to form a system of minute canals within the bone matrix. osteocytic, adj.
osteocyte (os´tēōsīt),
n an osteoblast that has been surrounded by a calcified interstitial substance; the cells are enclosed within lacunae, and the cytoplasmic processes extend through apertures of the lacunae into canaliculi in the bone. Like the osteoblast, the osteocyte may undergo transformations and assume the form of an osteoclast or reticular cell.
osteocyte
an osteoblast that has become embedded within the bone matrix, occupying a bone lacuna, and sending through canaliculi cytoplasmic processes that connect with other osteocytes in developing bone.
osteocyte-osteoblast pump
the interaction of osteocytes and osteoblasts, in response to parathyroid hormone, in moving calcium from the bone fluid to the extracellular fluid compartment.
surface osteocyte
a leaky barrier between cancellous and dense bone and lining the vascular channels in cortical bone. Called also resting osteoblast, inactive osteoblast.
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