MSK Flashcards
(131 cards)
what are the classifications of bone by shape?
- Long bones
- tubular
- hollow shaft
- ends expanded for articulation
- Short bones
- cuboidal
- Flat bones
- plates, often curved
- protective function
- Irregular bones
- Sesamoid bones
- round/oval nodules
bone macrostructure types
- Cortical
- dense
- only spaces are for vessels and cells
- Trabecular
- Cancellous (i.e. spongey)
- networks of trabeculae - holes filled with marrow
- cells are in the trabeculae and the blood vessels
Types of bone microstructure
- woven
- no clear structure and disorganises
- lamellar
- organised and layered structure
how does a hollow long bone’s structure contribute to its function?
- keeps mass away from the neutral axis which minimises deformation
how does a trabecular bone’s structure contribute to its function?
- gives structural support while minimising mass
adult bone composition
- 50-70% mineral
- hydroxyapetite which is a crystalline form of calcium phosphate
- 20-40% organic matrix
- mostly collagen
- 5-10% water
collagen stacked in fibrils with the hydroxyapetite crystals stacked like plates between them

cells of the bone
- osteoclasts
- multinucleated
- break bone down
- osteoblasts
- plump and cuboidal
- build bone up
- osteocytes
- stellate and are entombed in the bone
- in lacunae

Osteoblasts
- mesenchymal origin just like fibroblasts
- produce type I collagen and mineralise the ECM by depositing hydroxyapetite crystals within fibrils
- secrete factors that regulate osteoclasts
- RANKL
Osteoclasts
- haematopoietic origin
- they are specialised macrophages
- RANKL causes differentiation into mature osteoclast
- function is to resorb bone
- it dissolves the mineralised matrix with acid called TRAP
- breaks down the collagen with enzyme called cathepsin K
what is bone modelling?
- gross shape of the bone is altered, bone added or taken away
what is bone remodelling
- all of the bone is altered, new bone replaces old bone
- on average the entire skeleton is replaced every 20 years
- what happens is
- resorption by osteoclasts creates a hole
- a signal is sent that thats enough resorption
- osteoblasts are sent in to fill the deficit
- this results in new bone where the old bone was
- if remodelling becomes dysregulated we get disease
- the ability to create bone at the same speed it is taken away is diminished with age
- this leads to osteoperosis
why remodel bone?
- to repair damage
- as a response to weight bearing exercise
- woven bone (bone that has been laid down really quickly) needs to be replaced with lamellar bone
- in order to obtain calcium when there is a deficit
- reorientate fibres into the direction that is best for mechanical strength
what percentage of proteins are collagens
~30%
Type I collagen structure and organisation
- 3 chains intertwined and glycosylated forms tropocollagen
- 3 chains are held together in a triple helix by hydrogen bonds between hydroxyproline residues
- this requires vitamin C
- lots of tropocollagen is organised into a fibril
- lots of fibrils are organised into fibers
- fibril and fibers are held together by covalent cross-links between lysine side-chains
- copper needed for these
collagen breakdown
- uses proteases like collagenases and cathepsin K (in bone)
- these break of the telopeptides at the end of the triple helix
- this gives NTx and CTx
- NTx can be measured in urine and is often used as a marker of collagen breakdown
- CTx is a better marker but must be measured in blood
type 1 collagen processing
- before collagen can be exported for use in bone or whatever, the end globby bits need to be chopped off
- these bits are referred to as P1NP and P1CP
- for N terminus and C terminus
- these can be measured in the blood as a measure of bone formation
- P1NP is generally used cause it’s not metabolised and is excreted intact in the urine

where is type I collagen found?
bone, tendons, ligaments and skin
where is type II collagen found?
articular cartilage and vitreous humour
where is type III collagen found?
this is reticulate collagen and is commonly found alongside type I
where is type IV collagen found?
it is found at the basal lamina
where is type V collagen found?
it is commonly found at the cell surface
where is type X collagen found
at the growth plate
what is appositional growth?
- growth at the periphery of bone
- growth in the perichondrium causes an increase in diameter
- cell division takes place
what is interstitial growth?
- increase in length
- it happens in the middle of the bone at the growth plate
- chondrocytes become chondroblasts
- matrix becomes more dense

































