osteocyte
Sign in to saveAlso known as osteocytes
An osteocyte, an oblate-shaped type of bone cell with dendritic processes, is the most commonly found cell in mature bone. It can live as long as the organism itself. The adult human body has about 42 billion of them. Osteocytes do not divide and have an average half life of 25 years. They are derived from osteoprogenitor cells, some of which differentiate into active osteoblasts (which may further differentiate to osteocytes). Osteoblasts/osteocytes develop in mesenchyme.
Key facts
- Cell.Name
- Osteocyte
- Cell.Latin
- osteocytus
- Cell.Image
- Transverse section of bone en.svg
- Cell.Caption
- Transverse section of a bone
- Cell.Image2
- Bone_cells_-_Osteocytes_1_--_Smart-Servier.png
- Cell.Caption2
- Illustration showing a single osteocyte
- Cell.Location
- Bone
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
10,421 papers- The osteocyte and its osteoclastogenic potential.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023
- Osteocyte Mechanotransduction in Orthodontic Tooth Movement.Current osteoporosis reports · 2023
- Osteocyte dysregulation in periodontitis: Pathological mechanisms and therapeutic potential.Cellular signalling · 2025
- The osteocyte: A multifunctional cell within the bone.Annals of anatomy = Anatomischer Anzeiger : official organ of the Anatomische Gesellschaft · 2020
- Sympathetic Innervation Regulates Osteocyte-Mediated Cortical Bone Resorption during Lactation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Bone cells - Osteocytes 1 -- Smart-Servier.png
Show 2 more facts
- native label
- osteocytus
- Commons category
- Osteocytes
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Structure
- Development
- Function
- Sclerostin
- Pathophysiology
- Clinical significance
- See also
- References
- External links
An osteocyte, an oblate-shaped type of bone cell with dendritic processes, is the most commonly found cell in mature bone. It can live as long as the organism itself. The adult human body has about 42 billion of them. Osteocytes do not divide and have an average half life of 25 years. They are derived from osteoprogenitor cells, some of which differentiate into active osteoblasts (which may further differentiate to osteocytes). Osteoblasts/osteocytes develop in mesenchyme.
In mature bones, osteocytes and their processes reside inside spaces called lacunae (Latin for a pit) and canaliculi, respectively. Osteocytes are simply osteoblasts trapped in the matrix that they secrete. They are networked to each other via long cytoplasmic extensions that occupy tiny canals called canaliculi, which are used for exchange of nutrients and waste through gap junctions.