<P> The Latin word for bone is os, hence the many terms that use it as a prefix--such as osseous and osteopathy . </P> <P> Bone is not uniformly solid, but includes a tough matrix . This matrix makes up about 30% of the bone and the other 70% is of salts that give strength to it . The matrix is made up of between 90 and 95% collagen fibers, and the remainder is ground substance . The primary tissue of bone, bone tissue (osseous tissue), is relatively hard and lightweight . Its matrix is mostly made up of a composite material incorporating the inorganic mineral calcium phosphate in the chemical arrangement termed calcium hydroxylapatite (this is the bone mineral that gives bones their rigidity) and collagen, an elastic protein which improves fracture resistance . The collagen of bone is known as ossein . Bone is formed by the hardening of this matrix around entrapped cells . When these cells become entrapped from osteoblasts they become osteocytes . </P> <P> The hard outer layer of bones is composed of cortical bone also called compact bone being much denser than cancellous bone . It forms the hard exterior (cortex) of bones . The cortical bone gives bone its smooth, white, and solid appearance, and accounts for 80% of the total bone mass of an adult human skeleton . It facilitates bone's main functions: to support the whole body, protect organs, provide levers for movement, and store and release chemical elements, mainly calcium . It consists of multiple microscopic columns, each called an osteon . Each column is multiple layers of osteoblasts and osteocytes around a central canal called the haversian canal . Volkmann's canals at right angles connect the osteons together . The columns are metabolically active, and as bone is reabsorbed and created the nature and location of the cells within the osteon will change . Cortical bone is covered by a periosteum on its outer surface, and an endosteum on its inner surface . The endosteum is the boundary between the cortical bone and the cancellous bone . The primary anatomical and functional unit of cortical bone is the osteon . </P> <P> Cancellous bone also known as trabecular or spongy bone tissue is the internal tissue of the skeletal bone and is an open cell porous network . Cancellous bone has a higher surface - area - to - volume ratio than cortical bone because it is less dense . This makes it softer, and weaker but more flexible . The greater surface area also makes it suitable for metabolic activities such as the exchange of calcium ions . Cancellous bone is typically found at the ends of long bones, near to joints and within the interior of vertebrae . Cancellous bone is highly vascular and frequently contains red bone marrow where haematopoiesis, the production of blood cells, occurs . The primary anatomical and functional unit of cancellous bone is the trabecula . The trabeculae are aligned towards the mechanical load distribution that a bone experiences within long bones such as the femur . As far as short bones are concerned, trabecular alignment has been studied in the vertebral pedicle . Thin formations of osteoblasts covered in endosteum create an irregular network of spaces, known as trabeculae . Within these spaces are bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells . Trabecular marrow is composed of a network of rod - and plate - like elements that make the overall organ lighter and allow room for blood vessels and marrow . Trabecular bone accounts for the remaining 20% of total bone mass but has nearly ten times the surface area of compact bone . </P>

Part of a bone that forms an angle with the main body of the bone