Bone mineral

Scanning electron microscopy image of bone mineral

Bone mineral (also called inorganic bone phase, bone salt, or bone apatite) is the inorganic component of bone tissue. It gives bones their compressive strength. Bone mineral is formed predominantly from carbonated hydroxyapatite[1][2] with lower crystallinity.[1][3]

Bone mineral is formed from globular and plate structures[3][4] distributed among the collagen fibrils of bone and forming yet a larger structure. The bone salt and collagen fibers together constitute the extracellular matrix of bone tissue. Often the plural form "bone salts" is used; it reflects the notion of various salts that, on the level of molecular metabolism, can go into the formation of the hydroxyapatite.

Bone mineral is dynamic in living animals; it is continually being resorbed and built anew in the bone remodeling process. In fact, the bones function as a bank or storehouse in which calcium can be continually withdrawn for use or deposited for storage, as dictated by homeostasis, which maintains the concentration of calcium ions in the blood serum within a particular range despite the variability of muscle tissue metabolism. Parathyroid hormone and calcitonin are the principal hormones with which the neuroendocrine system controls this ongoing process. The parathyroid and thyroid glands in the neck produce those hormones; thus, problems with those glands (such as hypo- or hyperparathyroidism or hypo- or hyperthyroidism) can create problems with bone mineral density (as well as hypo- or hypercalcaemia).

See also

  • Ossein, the organic matrix of bone

References

  1. ^ a b Legroggs, R; Balmain, N; Bonel, G (1987). "Age-related changes in mineral of rat and bovine cortical bone". Calcified Tissue International. 41 (3): 137–44. doi:10.1007/bf02563793. PMID 3117340. S2CID 23703473.
  2. ^ Field, R. A.; Riley, M. L.; Mello, F. C.; Corbridge, M. H.; Kotula, A. W. (1974). "Bone composition in cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry". Journal of Animal Science. 39 (3): 493–9. doi:10.2527/jas1974.393493x. PMID 4412232.
  3. ^ a b Bertazzo, S.; Bertran, C. A. (2006). "Morphological and Dimensional Characteristics of Bone Mineral Crystals". Key Engineering Materials. 309–311: 3–6. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.309-311.3. S2CID 136883011.
  4. ^ Bertazzo, S.; Bertran, C. A.; Camilli, J. A. (2006). "Morphological Characterization of Femur and Parietal Bone Mineral of Rats at Different Ages". Key Engineering Materials. 309–311: 11–14. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.309-311.11. S2CID 135813389.