What is the term for the cylindrical units that make up compact bone and surround a central canal?

What is the term for the cylindrical units that make up compact bone and surround a central canal?

• A. Osteon
• B. Trabecula
• C. Lamella
• D. Canaliculi

Answer: (A)

Osteon is the cylindrical unit of compact bone. Each osteon surrounds a central canal that contains blood vessels and nerves, and is built from concentric rings called lamellae. Osteocytes sit in tiny spaces between the lamellae, called lacunae, and they connect to each other through tiny channels called canaliculi, which allow nutrients and signals to pass through the bone tissue. This organized tube-like structure gives compact bone its strength and ability to bear weight. The other terms don’t describe the whole unit: trabeculae are the latticework of spongy bone, not cylindrical units around a central canal; lamellae are the layers within an osteon, not the entire unit itself; canaliculi are the small channels between cells, not the structural unit.

Osteon is the cylindrical unit of compact bone. Each osteon surrounds a central canal that contains blood vessels and nerves, and is built from concentric rings called lamellae. Osteocytes sit in tiny spaces between the lamellae, called lacunae, and they connect to each other through tiny channels called canaliculi, which allow nutrients and signals to pass through the bone tissue. This organized tube-like structure gives compact bone its strength and ability to bear weight.

The other terms don’t describe the whole unit: trabeculae are the latticework of spongy bone, not cylindrical units around a central canal; lamellae are the layers within an osteon, not the entire unit itself; canaliculi are the small channels between cells, not the structural unit.