osteoblast
Sign in to saveOsteoblasts (from the Greek combining forms for "bone", ὀστέο-, osteo- and βλαστάνω, blastanō "germinate") are cells with a single nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the process of bone formation, osteoblasts function in groups of connected cells. Individual cells cannot make bone. A group of organized osteoblasts together with the bone made by a unit of cells is usually called the osteon.
Key facts
- Cell.Caption
- Osteoblasts (purple) rimming a bony spicule (pink - on diagonal of image). In this routinely fixed and decalcified (bone mineral removed) tissue, the osteoblasts have retracted and are separated from each other and from their underlying matrix. In living bone, the cells are linked by tight junctions and gap junctions, and integrated with underlying osteocytes and matrix H&E stain.
- Cell.Width
- 200px
- Cell.Image2
- Bone forming cells - Osteoblasts 3 -- Smart-Servier.png
- Cell.Caption2
- Illustration showing a single osteoblast
- Cell.Function
- Formation of bone tissue
- Cell.Location
- Bone
- Cell.Name
- Osteoblast
- Cell.Greek
- osteoblastus
- Cell.Image
- Bone hypercalcemia - cropped - very high mag.jpg
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Bone structure
- Bone remodeling
- Osteoblasts
- Osteoclasts
- Osteogenesis
- Bone morphogenetic proteins
- Steroid and protein hormones
- Organization and ultrastructure
- Collagen and accessory proteins
- Bone versus cartilage
- Mineralization of bone
- Osteocyte feedback
- Morphology and histological staining
- Isolation of Osteoblasts
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Osteoblasts (from the Greek combining forms for "bone", ὀστέο-, osteo- and βλαστάνω, blastanō "germinate") are cells with a single nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the process of bone formation, osteoblasts function in groups of connected cells. Individual cells cannot make bone. A group of organized osteoblasts together with the bone made by a unit of cells is usually called the osteon.
Osteoblasts are specialized, terminally differentiated products of mesenchymal stem cells. They synthesize dense, crosslinked collagen and specialized proteins in much smaller quantities, including osteocalcin and osteopontin, which compose the organic matrix of bone.