FACTS: Your bones are made primarily of an intricate edifice of mineralized tissue laid down by bone cells like a coral reef.
At first, the work is exciting and productive, as young cuboidal osteoblasts dutifully secrete the osteoid tissue that forms the bone matrix. Unfortunately, as the bone is constructed, these cells soon find themselves imprisoned in their own handiwork, buried alive!
In order to survive, these now mature osteocytes occupy little spaces called lacunae and reach out desperately to nearby cells with thin extensions (or cytoplasmic processes) into little channels (or canaliculi) in the bone. When they make contact, they form a living network inside the bone that can exchange nutrients and waste. They can also communicate about which parts of the bone are being stressed and need to be strengthened – as well as determine which parts should be left to decay.
Which may create a glimmer of hope: as osteoclasts begin resorbing the bone matrix, the material covering the osteocytes is reduced. However, as bone stresses are constantly shifting, bones are typically remade, strengthening them and dooming the osteocytes to their fate.
