Re: what are bones made of?
Area: Anatomy
Posted By: Michael Onken, WashU
Date: Tue Oct 7 13:25:57 1997
Area of science: Anatomy
ID: 874455323.An
Message:
Bones have two parts: the marrow, where blood is made, and the bone, which
gives the body support and acts as a massive storage place for calcium.
Bone is produced by specialized cells called osteoblasts, which
excrete lots of a protein called collagen, and quickly
fill all of the space between themselves with this collagen, which forms a
hard, rubbery material like
cartilage. To this material
the osteoblasts add hydroxy apatite (Ca5
(PO4)3
OH), a form of calcium phosphate (like plaster) which gives the bone
its stiffness and strength. So bone is composed of three things: collagen,
hydroxy apatite, and osteoblasts (also, there are other cells called osteo
clasts, which "eat" the bone, releasing the calcium back into the
blood, and allowing the shape of the bone to change during growth).
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