Morphology of the drifting osteon

Citation
Ag. Robling et Sd. Stout, Morphology of the drifting osteon, CELLS T ORG, 164(4), 1999, pp. 192-204
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Cell & Developmental Biology
Journal title
CELLS TISSUES ORGANS
ISSN journal
14226405 → ACNP
Volume
164
Issue
4
Year of publication
1999
Pages
192 - 204
Database
ISI
SICI code
1422-6405(1999)164:4<192:MOTDO>2.0.ZU;2-4
Abstract
Drifting osteons were followed longitudinally through the cortex of human a nd baboon long bones using serial sections, Direction of transverse drift w as recorded at different cross-sectional levels of the same systems, and ma ximum angular change in drift direction was measured for each system. Most drifting osteons exhibit: (1) substantial (similar to 90 degrees) variation in the direction of transverse drift along their longitudinal axes, (2) in termittent regions of concentric (type I) morphology, and (3) change in dri ft direction over time, evident at single cross-sectional levels. Additiona lly, 3-dimensional reconstruction reveals that the basic multicellular unit s (BMUs) responsible for creating drifting osteons are morphologically dist inct from the cutting-cone-closing-cone model BMUs that produce other types of osteons. The stimulus involved in the activation and guidance of drifti ng BMUs is unclear, but it is likely that the complex strain environment ex perienced by long bone cortices exerts a significant influence on their mor phology.