SLIBS Bone Website--Index

The Osteon:
Purpose and Index

The purpose of this exercise is to introduce rudiments of bone anatomy and to outline a process by which anatomical questions about bone structure can be addressed through morphological and statistical analysis. The material presented is selective and for a more uniform presentation the reader may wish to consult a standard text of histology.

The focus of this exercise is but a single question: Are the lacunae of compact bone osteons randomly distributed within the bone matrix? Many informational issues must be resolved and a plan for quantitative analysis must be developed in order to address the question.

The motivation for this exercise is the desire to show how simple questions about histological features can evolve into interesting and provoking thought. Like science itself, this exercise does not have a single methodology, a single endpoint, or even a conclusive answer. We invite your participation and hope you will share your thoughts and results with us.

There is practical merit to the exercise other than keeping one intellectually busy. Bone is, of course, a dynamic structure. As a tissue, it grows; it repairs itself; it conforms to activity; and it ages. Bone is subject to diseases such as arthritis. By addressing the question of lacunae distribution, one can gain insight to dynamic and diseased bone.

Following is an index map of this web site. It is important for us that you take the pre-test and post-test. The information will allow us, in part, to justify why NSF provided us resources to develop biology activities of a quantitative nature. More importantly your interactions will allow us to better design the activity as a learning tool. Thank you for visiting our site. This work was supported by NSF grant 95-54805 to R. Blystone and R. Cooper.

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Objective:

Bone is remarkable material--solid and strong, yet resiliant and changable. This exercise will focus on compact or dense bone, and will serve several purposes: